Ha! - ha indeed

When Wes Borg moved to Victoria last fall he showed up with his laptop, a guitar, half a pack of smokes and a duffel bag of dirty clothes. Now, almost a year later...those smokes are long gone. And he's got a hit Fringe Play on his hands.

As a founding member of Edmonton's "Three Dead Trolls in a Baggie", Borg is no stranger to Fringes; in fact that troupe was making people laugh at Victoria's first Fringe over 20 years ago. And now The Borg is back in town - and he's been busy. Working with Atomic Vaudeville, The 30 Cent Players, doing stand-up at Murph's pub and singing songs at Hootenannys and open mics, it didn't take long for Wes to establish himself as a comedic powerhouse in Victoria.

A "Bring-Your-Own-Venue-One-Man-Fringe-Show" was the next logical step. Although it's a fairly straightforward narrative Ha! isn't the easiest play to perform simply because it's a one-man show with half a dozen major characters (and a few minor ones thrown in). In one scene all six of them are in the same room.

So Borg's working hard for his laughs, which seems appropriate, because that's what the story is about. In a nutshell Ha! is a rag-to-riches tale of a rural Canadian kid who leaves the farm to pursue a career as a stand-up comic in the big city of Toronto. It even has a happy ending.
Borg has more than enough charm and the comedic chops to win over his audience, and, despite the depictions of drugs and sex and dysfunctional families, Ha! still manages to be a sweet, lighthearted story that's full of laughs.

And if the show's successful Borg should be able to afford some more smokes, and maybe even pay his rent.

Welcome to Victoria Wes, we're glad you're here.

Ha! Written & created by Wes Borg and Chris Craddock; Three Dead Trolls in a Baggie; it continues at Venue 10: Bar Code - 603 Pandora; it runs until Aug 31, 8 pm nightly. For more information go here.