jem rolls IS PISSED OFF: Slipping the truth in sideways

Why would you want to come and see the performance poetry of Jem Rolls IS PISSED OFF?

Because folks, this autobiographical show is a mosaic of brilliant verse with sublime sounding words that has Mr. Rolls describing his creative process of writing about pissed-off but being too content because he’s engaged to be married and Canadians smile too much.  This Englishman has a supersized vocabulary and a mansion-sized brain also referred to as his ‘brainberry’. He tells us that two plus two equals twenty-two and four. Only a very, very smart man can talk about stupidity using Isaac Newton’s mistake with his kittens.

One of my favourite pieces was related to our sea of information where he calls upon Wiki, Wiki, Mi Mi Mi, which he can access by touching twenty-two keys on his keyboard. He understood about himself by googling himself. Standby, the man plays with his words and moves up and back on the stage. How does he remember all those lines?

In his performance of ‘ego tourism’ he moved across the audience yelling: ‘get out of my way’, ‘out of my way’, ‘I like that’, ‘I like that’, ‘I don’t like that.’ He is a self-described navel gazer and slips his truth in sideways. He has ten declarements that he declares in the dark, twice. It was pitch black so I couldn’t write them down. I remember one was not to stick out your neck. Two more things I learned: know that 'it is hard work being us', but 'it could be worse, I could be you.'

Even if you have been to other shows by this consummate performer, this show will blow your matching socks off and get you to wear two different socks instead. I have to go one more time so I can learn another declarement.

Sunday, September 11 7:25pm
Monday, Sept 12, 5:15pm
Wednesday, Sept.14th 10:30pm
Friday, Sept. 16 9:05
Saturday, Sept. 17, 2:10