Cole has always been a bit of a wild child. He spends money on unnecessary things, has slept with a number of women, and has trouble facing commitment and personal problems. He tends to run away as soon as life gets hard. After living in his parents’ basement for years, he finally manages to get his own apartment and start getting his life together again.
Despite his history of partying, there’s only one person who keeps him sane: Julia.
Julia is a beautiful, kind spirit with whom he has had an on-again, off-again relationship for the past ten years. After being apart for a little bit, Julia shows up at Cole’s apartment with some news. Cole then realizes that now is the time to start acting like an adult and finally commit to Julia.
But life sometimes doesn't always go as planned and can change in the blink of an eye: In walks Vik, a sassy, mysterious girl Cole had been with during his and Julia's on-again, off-again periods. Vik also has news for Cole, and it will spin his life upside down.
Cole’s best friend Jeremy knows everything that’s happening. As a married man with a family and a haunting memory in his past, he tries to do whatever he can to get Cole to focus and make better choices in his life. Jeremy faces a number of Cole’s mistakes, both current and past, but realizes you can’t help people who don’t want to be helped.
*A Bad Man’s World* was written by Windsor local Michael J. Krym (who also plays the role of Cole). The show is roughly an hour and fifteen minutes long but carries so much raw emotion that you find yourself captivated when watching the performers. The four actors stayed connected to their characters every second they were on that stage. It felt as though they dug deep into their souls to fully embody each character's emotions and bring them to life.
Theatre in the Round was a unique way to perform this show. I had never been to a theatrical performance staged in such a manner before. Instead of having the stage directly in front of you with chairs in rows, the seats are up close to the stage in a half-circle. Depending on where you are sitting, you see the show a different way. Many times, the actors were on the edge of the stage looking directly at audience members. You could feel their breath, movements, and see the emotion in their eyes. Having a show presented this way makes it a very intimate performance.
*A Bad Man’s World* was a beautifully written show. Krym didn’t hold back on the content and language used. By doing so, it painted a real-life picture of things that can happen to yourself or others. Watching the performance, I felt myself getting teary-eyed at times and wanting to jump on stage and give them all a hug. Even looking around at other audience members, I could see them wiping away tears, and one of them pulled out a tissue. The actors deserve a huge round of applause for being able to pull the audience in like that. All of the actors are seasoned performers who will absolutely continue to do great things.
Director Eric Branget spoke a little about the show before it started. It was evident he really cares about keeping the performing arts alive, and that showed in his direction of the play.
*A Bad Man’s World* was Tall Tale Theatre Co.'s premiere. They hope to continue putting Canadian original works on stage. Not just in Windsor, but they would love to see their original works staged across Canada.
Tall Tale Theatre Co. is a profit-sharing performing company, meaning the ticket sales are split among the cast.
There are still a couple more performances this weekend (May 17-19) at Sho Art, Spirit & Performance Studio on Monmouth at 8pm nightly. Tickets are $20 and are available at the door or online.
**Director:** Eric Branget
**Written by:** Michael J. Krym
**Cast:**
Michael J.
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