Toronto Review: 'Box 4091' at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre
Louis Train, Associate Toronto Critic
In 1992, Brian Francis put a personal ad in a local newspaper. He was 21 years old, not completely out of the closet, and looking for love. Twenty-five men responded to his ad, twelve with whom Francis met up. He did not reply to the other thirteen - until now. In Box 4901, which opened recently at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, thirteen actors read out the thirteen unanswered letters, and Francis replies, finally, to each of them.
Brian Francis has made a name for himself writing smart, sympathetic fiction about vulnerable characters. In Box 4901, however, the Brian character is in control. One by one, young men, old men, professors, students, and farmers tell Brian why he should meet them, date them, hook up with them. And, to each of them, one by one, Brian says no. He points out when they’re old, when they’re ugly, when their spelling is wrong.
At the play’s conclusion (no spoilers), Brian explains that he chose to revisit these letters because, à la Proust, he wants to preserve and cherish his fleeting memories. One wonders, then, why Francis is so caught up on the men he didn’t meet, and not on the 12+ encounters he had in the autumn of 1992. Is it memory that drove Francis to write this play, or a desire to have the final word? What does he - what do we - get out of rejecting guys twenty-eight years after the fact?
Francis’ monologues are prosaic and quippy. His would-be suitors, though less acerbic, radiate charm and personality. Individually, they remind us of the rich and complex lives that people - especially queer people - can live without anyone else knowing. Together, they present a colourful mosaic of small-town gay life; of secrets, sex, and longing.
Some of them are also incredibly, embarrassingly hilarious.
I would like to have heard more from these men, but each gets only a handful of lines. Some spend the lion’s share of the show standing still or sitting on the edge of the set. Brandon Kleiman’s set is gorgeous, sure, but it feels like a waste to bring out 13 great queer actors and give each of them at most a short monologue.
BOX 4901
by BRIAN FRANCIS
Runs to March 8 at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, 12 Alexander Street, Toronto. For ticket information, please call the Box Office at (416) 975-8555 or visit www.buddiesinbadtimes.com
directed + co-created by ROB KEMPSON
starring BRIAN FRANCIS, COLIN ASUNCION, HUME BAUGH, SAMSON BONKEABANTU BROWN, KEITH COLE, DANIEL JELANI ELLIS, JEFF HO, MICHAEL HUGHES, INDRIT KASAPI, DANIEL KROLIK, ERIC MORIN, G KYLE SHIELDS, CHY RYAN SPAIN + GEOFFREY WHYNOT
set design BRANDON KLEIMAN
lighting design COSETTE PIN
sound design ADRIAN SHEPHERD-GAWINSKI
producer STACEY NORTON
associate producer CURTIS TE BRINKE
stage management LUCY MCPHEE
production manager KATHERINE SMITH
Photo: Daniel Krolik (in spotlight), Michael Hughes, Keith Cole, Colin Ascunsion. Photo by James Heaslip