Now on stage at VideoCabaret, 10 Busy Street, Toronto
“Bubble headily hilarious with a delicious deadpan satirical delivery.”
Having never met Karen Hines’ Pochsy before, I was advised to sit as close to the stage as possible. During the performance, it became clear why this was necessary.
Like any eager theatregoer who wants to learn and experience more, I did what I was told.
Sitting close to the stage is worth it in a one-person show. Sitting this close means you somehow become part of the action, as one audience member discovered when Pochsy couldn’t open her water bottle. She spots a buff gym rat and asks him to open it for her, then proceeds to call him something that made the audience laugh. I don’t want to spoil what she calls him if she uses it again.
Who is this Pochsy? Pochsy the Fourth in a Roman numeral?
Silly me. It’s intravenous (IV).
A bit of research in Liam Donovan’s recent Intermission article indicates that Pochsy can be described as a satire of consumer culture, juxtaposing a baby-dollish exterior with a roiling existential darkness. She wears panda fur (with the white missing from the bottom), a tuque, and boots in earthy brown tones.
This time, Pochsy’s unplugged in her satire. She’s vicious but in a sweet vapid way that makes you just want to hug her.
Thank you, Liam, for that vital background information and introduction. The performance I attended clearly indicated that many people around me were already familiar with the character.
Pochsy is more than just a baby-doll exterior; she possesses a vacuous, pixie-like charm. I can’t help but think of Georgia Engel’s Georgette from The Mary Tyler Moore Show. (I know, I’m old.) Pochsy embodies a blend of Georgette Baxter’s innocence and the quick-witted one-liners from television’s The Golden Girls. (Yes, I know, I’m old again.) Just imagine a cross between Georgette and the Golden Girls dropping the ‘F’ bomb, which Pochsy does, by the way.
Pochsy is bubble-headily hilarious. She often stares with a wide-eyed gaze at the audience. This occurs after she may have just skewered something about consumer culture, and she wants to see the audience’s response.
The silence works—tremendously. I’m sure Hines, director Blake Brooker, and co-director Michael Kennard probably had fun placing some of these pauses for effect. During the performance, I also got the impression that Hines loves improvisation. This occurred when there was noise in the lobby. Hines stopped the show and went out to see what was going on, came back in, and then picked up—naturally and believably.
Her delicious, deadpan delivery of occasionally incoherent philosophical musings and ramblings is worth the ticket price. Stay with her; her rambling satirical commentary on consumer culture will make sense.
Pochsy used to work at Mercury Packers, where she packed mercury. She lost her job when the company moved offshore. According to the program, Pochsy must grapple with God’s broken promise of a five-star future. Her conversations with the Almighty are infused with a childlike perspective as she asks for stuff that God might not be able to deliver.
It’s a bare stage at Toronto’s Busy Street VideoCabaret. A spotlight lights up medical boxes and what looks like a jet-black teddy bear. Pochsy pulls various items from these boxes to comment on consumer culture during the show. Once again, I don’t want to spoil what’s in these boxes, but the items are crucial in making us laugh.
Along with the humour, Pochsy is a bit horrifically graphic too. When she started to describe a natural bodily function under pressure, I cringed and, yes, I laughed out loud too.
Final thoughts: Karen Hines’ Pochsy remains razor-sharped and acerbic in its commentary on social culture.
The 80-minute running time flew by. I didn’t want it to end.
The show closes April 20.
Get tickets to see it.
‘POCHSY IV: UNPLUGGED’ runs until April 20 at VideoCabaret 10 Busy Street Toronto. For tickets: https://videocab.com/pochsy-iv-unplugged
POCHSY IV: UNPLUGGED presented by VideoCabaret
Co-produced by keepfrozen with Grazyna Krupa
Written and performed by Karen Hines
Direction and Dramaturgy by Blake Brooker with co-direction by Michael Kennard
Lighting Design: Blake Brooker
Sound Design and Special Compositions by Chantal Vitalis and Richard Feren
Costume Consultant: Justin Miller/Pearle Harbour
