Liver

Sean Sullivan, Shaun Benson and Katelyn McCulloch. Photo Credit: Radey Barrack.

When you're given your life back, is it really yours? That is the overarching question posed by Toronto playwright Kat Sandler in her latest play LIVER, a morbidly funny meditation on life and death, now playing at The Storefront Theatre (955 Bloor Street West).

This time around, Sandler sets the action in a hospital/medical college where we meet the geeky intern Glen (played brilliantly by Michael Musi) on a date of sorts with Lacey (Katelyn McCulloch), an adventurous party girl who is bizarrely obsessed with the corpse he has been studying. Before Glen can stop her from kissing the dead man, it becomes clear that the poor fellow is actually very much alive. Andrew (Shaun Benson) is an alcoholic whose liver was removed during an autopsy earlier that day.

Enter doctor Halik (Sean Sullivan), a creepy surgeon who views Andrew's return as an opportunity to conduct medical experiments for the "good" of science. The doctor hopes to keep his patient's condition a secret from the world outside the operating room, but when Andrew's wronged ex-wife Rachel (Claire Armstrong) shows up, the situation takes a twisted turn.

Whip-smart and hilarious, LIVER is typical fast-paced Sandler fare. The cast delivers in the comedy department while also digging deep into the emotional guts of the play, which explores the randomness of life and asks what it means to really live. Benson pulls off the role of Andrew the womanizing "asshole," while at the same time winning over the audience as an unwitting patient/victim. McCulloch gives a memorable performance as the bold yet vulnerable Lacey, Armstrong's damaged Rachel steals scenes and Sullivan is masterful as the deranged doctor Halik.

Once again, Sandler's formula for fun and provocative theatre is proving critical to the health of Toronto's arts scene. Don't miss Liver, on stage until May 10 at the Storefront Theatre. Visit thestorefronttheatre.com for more information and to buy tickets.

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Q&A: Liver

Claire Armstrong on her role in Kat Sandler's latest show at The Storefront Theatre