Dr. Keir strikes back

But as Westmount actor Keir Cutler learned last summer, not everyone is always amused, and sometimes the real nuts are not up on the stage.

Cutler’s series of comic monologues has been such a success that he has performed in numerous Fringe Festivals across Canada ever since his debut farce, ‘Teaching Shakespeare’, introduced his now fully developed character Dr. Keir to howling audiences. Last year’s instalment in the Dr. Keir saga, ‘Teaching As You Like It’, had the inept professor — now reduced to subbing a high school class — talking about a grossly inappropriate affair he has had with a young student. Shocking to some, perhaps, but this is typical comic fare for Cutler, who thought nothing of dropping his pants onstage in ‘Teaching Detroit’ and performed ‘Lunatic Van Beethoven’ from the floor of an indoor pool in a former public bath house, wearing an appropriately absurd wig. Anyone who knows the man personally will tell you he is nothing like any of the characters he portrays.

But the boundaries between life and art are not so well defined to some theatre-goers, and following a performance of ‘Teaching As You Like It’ at the Winnipeg Fringe Festival last summer, the actor — not the character — was accused of promoting the seduction of young girls. Two letters of complaint were written to the festival’s organizers, and a copy of one was sent to Child Find Manitoba — suddenly putting a very serious spin on an otherwise amusing satirical work.

Yes, as Cutler found out the hard way, there really are people that stupid, and some of them can write damaging letters.

No matter how hurtful these idiotic allegations may have been, Cutler has just finished stirring up a batch of sweet lemonade in the form of ‘Teaching the Fringe’ — a new one-man show that takes aim at the whole sordid situation. The controversy has proven most fortunate for him; he is banking on the well-known fact that there is no such thing as bad publicity in the media and has rightly turned the whole thing into an effective, built-in PR campaign to promote the new play.

More power to him.

Cutler’s cutting blend of risqué and intellectual humour is tailor-made for the Fringe Festival, and at the risk of biting the hand, he is now extracting his own revenge on those who are so unclear on the concept of acting that they can actually damage someone’s personal reputation. It’s about time someone took a good swipe back at them. And if this new production stirs up even more controversy, so much the better. We, his audiences, are sure to benefit. · ‘Teaching the Fringe’ by Keir Cutler, directed by T.J. Dawe, will be presented by the Montreal Fringe Festival on the Mirror Stage at 4247 St. Dominique St. on June 14 at 11:15 p.m., June 15 at 9:30 p.m., June 16 at 6:15 p.m., June 18 at 9:30 p.m., June 20 at 6:45 p.m., June 21 at 2 p.m., and June 22 at 7:15 p.m. Tickets are $11. For more information, call 514-849-3378 or visit www.keircutler.com.