Ask for the ‘canadiano’, not americano

COFFEE mugs with the slogan “Canada is not for sale” are selling like hot lattes in shops near St. Lawrence Market, a historic quarter of Toronto. Minutes away at the Second City theatre, the comedy Duel Citizens is demonstrating that Canadian actors are not afraid to be political. 

Sitting through the play last week, I saw how Canadians had been united by US President Donald Trump’s threat to make Canada the 51st state of America. As one press review of the play noted: “With almost every Canadian impacted by, or consumed by, threats to the country and its economy coming from the Fascist-in-Chief to the south, the troupe scratches a comedy itch offering belly laugh relief.”

The audience laughed through a brilliant script that turned dark politics into humour, often self-effacing. The writers did a great job of showing the unpreparedness of the Canadian armed forces for a hypothetical American invasion. They portrayed the army’s ineptness through a trio of soldiers that could neither point a rifle correctly nor stand to attention without getting themselves into a tangle.