Balls! kicks cancer in the 'nads

Since the set for Balls! consists simply of a basketball hoop and a couple of backpacks containing some small props, the script for the play has to hold the weight of this show, and it does so most of the time.

Two friends who've been pals and neighbours since elementary school go on an emotional journey when Paul (Rob Salerno) is diagnosed with testicular cancer. Strangely enough, after he survives that first round of chemo and surgery, Bastian (Adam Goldhamer) contracts the same disease. Male friendship, courage, emotion and humour all play strongly in this piece.

The story unfolds between scenes of shooting hoops in Bastian’s driveway. The guys banter and fight, tease and ridicule, always loyal underneath. The script is damned funny, which is impressive considering the scarey subject matter. The two are obviously close; they kept a tin-can telephone line strung between their houses for several years "after they outgrew it," and they both had their first crush on the same girl. They bonded – and still bond – over Playboy and over typical jokes about screwing each other's mothers. There's a hilarious and poignant scene (spoiler alert!) in which Paul drives Bastian to the sperm clinic so that Bastian's sperm can be kept as a frozen base sample for comparison with later tests, and the mags that Paul gives him (the ones in the clinic are, well, kinda used) turn out to be extreme-porn prints like Barnyard Confessions. The writing in scenes like this is wonderfully funny.

But as Balls! progresses, the script hits weak points. Paul and Bastian keep using the same jokes - maybe this is true to friendships, but we're not watching a reality show here - and things stay a little too close to the surface because the two never have any extended conversations that would reveal much about how they think. Is this meant to be a reflection of “typical” male banter? It's true that emotion can be revealed through actions and without words, but I'm not sure Balls! is taking that approach either - too much of the story is told, not shown.

There are also segments that are clearly "education components" for the audience, which is intriguing and often funny, but sometimes too self-conscious. In the end, we keep getting told that Paul and Bastian's friendship is important. The script contains plenty of meta-narrative sections where the actors address us as audience to talk about how and why the play was written. But we don't get to experience for ourselves the intricacies of what makes these two dudes individuals with a unique friendship, rather than just any two guys.

The acting is good, the play is easy to watch, and the scene when Paul and Bastian have to say farewell was believably emotional. That moment is almost wrecked by the dramaturgy, though; the cheesy music that kicks in when Bastian’s listening to one end of the severed tin can telephone is distracting and doesn't do the scene justice. It’s especially jarring because there are no sound effects during the rest of the play. The sudden intrusion of sentimental music diverts us from Bastian's emotion precisely when we should be letting that emotion sink into us. It would be such a straightforward, brave moment without that intrusion.

I was excited at the chance to have a glimpse into the mysterious male mind (how *do* male friendships work?!) and I commend any playwright whose motivation is to talk about maleness honestly and openly, as Solerno does here. And I recommend the play to Fringe-goers, if my “spoilers” in this review haven’t already given too much away.

Ultimately, though, I feel that Salerno didn't resolve what Balls! is about. Is it about testicular cancer generally - i.e. mostly a health education piece - or is it specifically about two individuals and their unique friendship? The script seems to slide between these two points rather than fusing them. The program notes tell us that Salerno wrote the work as a memorial to a friend who tied of testicular cancer, and I think it would have been a stronger play if he had made it more specific to one person's story, skipping the generalities.

Balls! was producd by Ten Foot Pole Productions, Toronto. Writer/Director: Rob Salerno; Actors: Rob Salerno, Adam Goldhamer; Dramaturg/Assistant director: Laurel Green

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