Bahia Watson and Liza Paul are a delight in their fantastic show Pomme is French for Apple

I had a wretched afternoon and on my way to the car I fell on some ice. Pomme is French for Apple starts at 9 pm – late in my books. Not really the best way to go to see a show; I wasn’t in the most receptive frame of mind.

Thank you Bahia and Liza for turning my day around. Pomme is for Apple is a fantastic show. Hilariously funny!

I didn’t know what to expect. I knew it was about sex and something in the publicity made me think it was a show for young people so I was hesitant to ask anyone else my age to come with me. Megan came with me – admittedly under duress. On the way to the car after the show she thanked me for making her go.

Pomme is French for Apple is “a fresh and irreverent look at womanhood, sex, society, and all kinda madness in between”. It’s a series of vignettes about dating, sex and society with a distinct West Indian flavour. Bahia Watson and Liza Paul wrote, produced and perform the show. They work brilliantly together.

As funny as it is Pomme is French for Apple is also thoughtful. Megan said that one of the things she appreciated was that the didactic moments weren’t painful. I asked her what didactic meant. Merriam Webster says didactic means  “intended to convey instruction and information as well as pleasure and entertainment”. I would have said that they didn’t hit you over the head with a message.

I loved how universal it was. Even though the show has a West Indian flavour and some of the dialogue is in a West Indian patois the stories are about things we’ve all experienced. Or at least women have.

We both had one small quibble. There were a couple of scenes where the characters had British accents. The accents were ok but it was a distraction. There didn’t seem to be a compelling reason for it.

We also agreed on our least favourite part of the evening. The venue. We could hear music from the other room and I kept hearing a microwave.

We both loved it. So did the rest of the audience; the men laughed as hard as the women. Speaking of the audience – it was one of the most diverse audiences I’ve seen in Toronto. A really wide age range and at least half of the audience wasn’t white. More women than men though. Probably the assumption is that it’s a ‘woman’ show.

I don’t think it is. It’s a show that anyone can enjoy. A fun way to spend an evening.

Details:

– Pomme is French for Apple is playing at The Tranzac (292 Brunswick Avenue) until February 18th
– The show starts at 9 pm.
– Tickets are $20.00
– Tickets are available online or at the door (cash only)  after 8pm on the day of the performance

Photo of Bahia Wilson and Liza Paul by SIDDIQUI at zahrasiddi.tumblr.com