Never Mind, I’ll Find Someone Like Hugh

Fringe ArtsChris Aitkens — Published November 25, 2014 | Updated November 25, 2014 at 6:47pm

The play parodies the tropes of the Bard’s comedies, particularly elements such as mistaken identities, cross-dressing and not-so-subtle sex jokes. The majority of the characters speak in a faux-Shakespearean manner.

The play was written by Jimmy Karamanis, Travis Henry Martin and Alexander Smith—all graduates of Dawson College’s Theatre program and founders of Playwright Hero.

Playwright Hero was created in 2011 as a backlash to all the terrible movies coming out of Hollywood at the time, borrowing part of their name from the video game Guitar Hero.

“Many people are jaded from reading Shakespeare in high school,” said Jimmy Karamanis. “We aim to give him a second chance.”

Last summer, Playwright Hero won the Segal Centre’s Most Promising English Company award for their Fringe Festival production of Johnny Legdick, a rock-opera about a boy with a third leg.

“The majority of our creative endeavours are fueled by alcohol,” Martin laughed.

“Shakespeare’s plays are so ridiculous,” Karamanis said, “there’s a lot of room for spoof. The situations are so ludicrous and would never happen in real life.

“For example, in Othello, I love how Desdemona’s handkerchief is a respected plot device in literature, because it’s the most ridiculous thing ever. Shakespeare was probably thinking, ‘I have nowhere to go with this play, I have no ideas, so I’m just going to throw this handkerchief in here and it’ll be really relevant.’ And everyone just bought it and never questioned it!”

“If Shakespeare can do it, that means I can do it,” Martin added. “I live by the mantra, ‘good artists borrow and great artists steal.’ It’s the cycle of art.”

In No One Like Hugh, the role of the archetypal Fool is played by a puppet. “The Fool is the only character who can tell apart the two Hugh twins, who look nothing alike. We wanted to add this other layer to show how different the Fool is from everyone else. The puppet speaks in modern English and the audience will be able to connect to the puppet because he’s the only one with common sense.”

Other than the puppet master, the entire cast and crew consists of Dawson theatre graduates, referred among themselves as “Domies.”

“Domies tend to have a familiarity with each other, even if they don’t know each other. There’s an automatic chemistry because they’ve all had similar experiences,” explained Karamanis. “When I cast a show, I try to choose who will work the best together. There’s a certain sense of family among Domies, whether they be actors, designers or stage managers.”

Recently Playwright Hero launched a campaign on Patreon, a crowdfunding website that connects audiences with artists.

“Patreon really helped us out. Getting a grant is impossible, especially for English productions in Quebec. That’s why every donation on Patreon is that much more meaningful because people are choosing to support something that they believe in,”said Karamanis.

Playwright Hero is the only live theatre company on Patreon, which normally supports digital media. Thanks to donations, Playwright Hero has secured $2,000 per production and has given hope to their future projects.

Johnny Legdick will be remounted at the Centaur Theatre for the Wildside Festival in January and has just been accepted for the Toronto Fringe Festival. Another musical is also in the works: the potentially controversial funk opera, The Gospel of Pimp Jesus, co-written by musical group the JEM.

“Playwright Hero is working to bring our generation to the theatre,” continued Martin. “People are looking for something to call their own in the lesser-known art forms. In this increasingly global and connected world, it’s nice to have something local and intimate.”

No One Like Hugh // opens Wednesday, Nov. 26 at 8 p.m. at Mainline Theatre (3997 St. Laurent) // runs until Saturday, Nov. 30 // two performances on Saturday at 8 and 10 p.m. // Tickets are $15; students pay $12.