Story by Carolyn Bowering

Ho Ho Ho Canada.  I think the creases in my face got a little deeper last night.  For moments on end my expression was stretched in a rictus of laughter, as silent as possible in an effort to miss as little as possible.

It started in the Venables lobby with the delighted greetings of friends and neighbours gathering together in anticipation of a jolly good laugh.  We were primed.
Primed enough to sing a seasonal song (out loud) to open the show at a level slightly above needing hearing aids to hear.  We Olivarians were still a little shy in the volume department.  That changed.

Yes, that changed.

James and Jamesy loosened us up.

From a gentle, spell-binding opening with the appearance of a floating teapot (brilliantly shiny white – it sparkled throughout) eventually attached by the slo-mo balletic appearance of a fashionably garbed sinewy leg with a long slender foot that insinuated itself onto the stage.  Meet Jamesy.

Now meet James, a Magritte painting, upper crust, dressed in powder blue with a bowler hat. The perfect complement to Jamesy’s physical comedy.

Thus starts the hilaritea.

Oh those boys!!  With little more than two chairs, an end table and their acrobatic bodies prancing and dancing; sipping and slurping; sloshing and joshing, we were with them for a rollicking good time.

Canoes, kayaks and cruise ships (and no intermission) kept us afloat . . .

And the company they kept!!

God, the Queen and other very special guests; right here in Oliver.  A letter to “the other big guy” who didn’t show was in order.  Mind your meniscus.

Though a minimalist set, with lots for the imagination to conjure, the whole program sported fabulous effects flawlessly (if you don’t know otherwise) executed.  Beyond the lighting and sound there was a certain amount of magic present.  And the audience did respond.

Our next carol was a little louder (if only we knew the words) and the audience participation on stage and off was more than mere good sportsmanship.  Brave souls.

We finally really cut loose and showed our ability to be loud and responsive when giving our endorsement of the performance at the end with some volume by applause, whistling and hooting.

We were, at least momentarily, changed.

Sharing the fun, truly stemming from a body of joy present in the moment, James and Jamesy made quite a splash and showed me a ripping good time.