BWW Reviews: CROSSDRESSERS AND CRIMINALS Plays at Montreal Fringe

Crossdressers and Criminals: 3 Ways to Lose Yourself, presented by Uncanny Theatre Company, might be more appropriately titled '3 Ways to Find Yourself'.

The show, currently running at the Fringe Festival, is a mélange of three separate pieces that complement and bring a deeper understanding to each other. Centered on three lost souls, the show highlights the drastic decisions some will take in order to find clarity within themselves.

The show is dependent on only three actors whose monologues occasionally interact with each other. The intimate performance space chosen, the Freestanding Room, mimics the feel of an oddball group therapy session in which the audience is a part of.

The show opens with Red (Liz Burns), who is one-half of a tough duo biker gang. When her partner Grizzly announces it is time for him to move to France, Red doesn't realize how lost she will be without him. Her desperate attempts to define herself as an individual and not as a duo lead her on a journey in an attempt to fill the gaping void in her life. We are next introduced to Jamie Jones (Lex Youssef), a grown man who desperately worries about the legacy he will leave behind when he is gone. He cooks up a drastic plan, which involves dressing as a woman, in order to catch a predator and become a superhero. Finally, we meet June (Tania Dos Santos), a spiritual young woman who recounts her traumatizing exploits with her father on a trip they took together to Mexico.

For his first professional performance, Lex Youssef gave an entertaining and comical performance as Jamie Jones, the titular cross dresser. Throughout the show his character development was believable and thought-provoking.

Tania Dos Santos, as June brought to life the airy and spiritual young woman whose inner strength is a powerful overbeat throughout the show.

Liz Burns gave a particularly awe-inspiring standout performance as the tough yet lovable Red. Her disintegration into herself was captivating yet comedic. Her performance during the apex of the show added the drama the show needed and she delivered it with ease.

Marie Markovic, who directed and wrote June's piece, as well as Jonathan Fournier, who produced and wrote the other two characters solo pieces, should be commended on creating a show that brings a meditative approach to the psyches of those searching for themselves.

Crossdressers and Criminals: 3 Ways to Lose Yourself plays at the Freestanding Room, 4324 St. Laurent. It plays from June 13-23. Tickets are $12. For more information, click here.

Photo courtesy of Uncanny Theatre Company.

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