Virtual Solitaire: a 21st century techno-tale

Boquist, sun glasses and more than 30 characters

Vancouver: Virtual 1. Simulated, or carried on by means of a computer or computer network. 2. Existing in effect though not in fact 3. A product of the imagination.

Solitaire: 1. Any of a number of games played by one person.  2. A gem, such as a diamond, that is set alone.

Let there be no doubt: Virtual Solitaire is a must-see for the 2009 Fringe – even if that does mean leaving the comforting theatrical bubble that Granville Island has become over the last week, and trekking up to Studio 16 on West 7th Avenue. 

One-person shows are a staple of the Fringe, but even with the wealth of talent on offer, there are few performers who have the chops of Darren Boquist.  In the seventy-five minutes allotted, Boquist inhabits more than thirty characters, and does so with a depth and range of expression that is unparalleled. He shows an impressive economy of movement: with minutes in which to sketch a character, he brings his attention to the minutia – tone of voice, facial ticks, and posture.  Virtual Solitaire is thick with plot twists: many characters appear for moments and are never seen again.  Even so, Boquist evokes figures that are unique and unforgettable: a hard-boiled detective, a poetic murderer, eccentric madmen, an apocalyptic beatnik; a 21st century mendicant  listening for the voice of God – and many more.

It is fortunate for Boquist that he possesses such inner resources, for the script demands nothing less than a masterful performance.  The Fringe guide summarizes the plot as follows: “Two scientists with conflicting morals struggle to pull a virtual reality junkie caught inside VR back to real life.”  Virtual Solitaire is so narrative and linguistically complex that viewers will be grateful for this minimalist description, which captures the structure if not of not the texture of the plot.

We are introduced first to Nathan, our virtual reality junkie: lights come up on a man in goggles who leaps and contorts onstage, clearly in the grip of an invisible drama.  When Nathan speaks, it is in an almost intelligible patois of computer jargon and neo-surfer street slang: “Bush. Stanch, it's copacet.  I'll sell my internals to any Corp. who will keep me in – whoah!”  Set in a hypothetical future, this linguistic fluidity is one of the beauties of Virtual Solitaire.  The words of the script are at once alien and familiar – similar to hearing spoken Esperanto or Old English – it is our language, but it is something other too.  It is a pleasure to listen to Boquist who articulates his lines emphatically and naturally – as if this really were his native tongue.

Two other key characters are Clarence, a timid scientist who oversees programming for a virtual reality game called “The Man in the Iron Mask,” and his superior Stanley, a steely CEO who looks out for investor interests.  These characters speak in jargon-heavy but distinct English, and their monologues help to illuminate the plot in which Nathan in an unwitting pawn.

Nathan has been hired to act as a template through which the scientists can calibrate the emotional responses of the murder-mystery's characters: cops, doctors, a night watchman, and the criminally insane.  While his body lies on a table in an isolated room, Nathan's “internals” are electronically uploaded into the game.  Nathan is paid for his services in access to virtual reality, to which he is addicted.  When the game begins to go awry, static characters start to interact spontaneously using Nathan's emotions as their power source.  Clarence and Stanley enter into a violent power struggle over the ethics of a cover-up, and the unfortunate junkie's life hangs in the balance.

Grounded in the language of computer science, Virtual Solitaire is deeply poetic.  It draws on the best of speculative fiction, offering a cautionary tale for the 21st century that is witty, entertaining, chilling, and always original.  In Darren Boquist's capable hands, it comes to life with astonishing vividness and colour.  A gem of a play and a wonderful performance, Virtual Solitaire truly does stand alone.

For showtime information zap yourself here.

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By Kirstie McCallum