Do we need to talk about it? Candy Roberts embodies Big Crone Energy in QUEENAGE WASTELAND, a guest Fringe Review by Fawnda Mithrush

QUEENAGE WASTELAND (Stage 17, Grindstone Comedy Theatre and Bistro)

By Fawnda Mithrush

Known best to Fringe audiences from her much-lauded turn as LARRY, award-winning comedy artist, musician and writer Candy Roberts brings high personal stakes to this solo piece, which expounds on her childhood growing up in Campbell River, her awkward teenage years, and her impending Crone-hood (that is, the phase of life where a woman embraces her cat-loving ways and becomes the “ugly, crazy, unmarried” spinster that society chalks her up to be).

Roberts is officially done with dating; relationships are off the table due to “nonethical nonmonogamy” ruining her taste for them. We come to realize that her current status is more complex; her parents’ influence impacts her desire to mother only cats, not kids. And her youthful insecurities led to “little t” traumas that she glosses over with winks and nudges.

You might be stunned by Roberts’ glib takes at times, but it’s part of the charm in her humour, and why clowning is her strong suit — everything feels a little safer coming from a ridiculous character. Clowning saved her life, she says, and it’s assuring to see her hick-with-a-heart clown Larry return ever so briefly to protect Candy’s vulnerabilities. “Gear down, big rig,” he reminds us, when the inclination to judge arises.

It’s a little unkempt around the edges as a new performance piece, but with some polish (and perhaps more cats?) Roberts will surely settle into her Queenage Cronedom comfortably.