Ever wondered where Dr. Doom buys his groceries? What kind of music the Scarecrow’s into? If Lex Luthor ever gets lonely? In The Antagonist, which is debuting at the Vancouver Fringe Festival, director Matt Clarke has uncovered these unsolved mysteries with a brilliantly witty account of a day in the life of a comic book villain. Being performed at a time in which superhero movies are in excess, fixated on violence and as bloated as their budgets, it was a breath of fresh air to see a play trade in an action packed plot for a low key story with a very human heart.
The play centres around Eugenius, a self-centred and bitter supervillain whose main aim is, of course, world domination. However, what seems to concern him more than his evil plan is his desire to be accepted just like the rest of us — to be invited to the pub after work, to get laid and to have friends.
Sean Amsing navigates his character perfectly — constructing Eugenius into the class-A asshole that the audience grows to know and love. His effortless natural shifts in tone — from evil mastermind to the genuine “Eugene” — pokes fun at the comic book world, cleverly integrating superheroes and villains into “real life,” where people still hold up queues at the grocery and go on terrible online dates. Placed against a hum-drum backdrop like this, Eugenius becomes a sympathetic character. So much so that the audience not only laughs out loud at his comic timing, but also murmurs a resounding “aww” when he admits to hating himself.
The integration of the everyday life does not by any accounts undermine the comic book feel of the production. The campy costumes and classic archetypes — from the characterization of the terrifically named “Dr. Sick” to the over bearing and always knitting “Ma” — do more than simply laugh at recognizable tropes. They construct a world for The Antagonist itself to exist in. This is complimented by a set that uses minimal props and brilliant backdrops. Samantha Taylor’s painted flats, pinned up against moveable white boards, establishes an on-stage representation of the comic book format. Each flat is also detailed to further the comedy in the background, with things like a book on how to succeed in Warcraft and a calendar which reads “hang on in there” on Eugenius’s bedroom wall. In the comic book world, the space between scenes is commonly referred to as “the gutter,” where no action occurs. Clarke cleverly utilizes this space to further the “behind-the-scenes” feel of the production by transitioning each scene change with some great down tempo MF Doom beats, as the lights dim and Eugenius navigates his way from one endearingly simple set piece to the next.
The show is male-centred, but so is the superhero genre to begin with. Its jokes are at points adolescent. Laughing about communal masturbation is unlikely to suit everyone’s tastes, but the play does not really set itself up to be highbrow. Instead, for a light hearted, easy to watch, feel good production. The Antagonist hits the nail on the head. Whether you’re a comic book zealot or have only seen The Dark Knight once because your friend told you to, this play is sure to make you smile, cringe and laugh at the misgivings of a villain who just wants to fit in.