Vaudeville returns

The Martlet,
September 28, 2006
by Jessica Smith

 The beauty of comedy is its ability to stay current, said Atomic Vaudeville director/performer Britt Small about the so-called “new beginning” of the local staple of alternative theatre and its upcoming What is Beauty? Pageant, Sept. 27, 28 and 30.
The last Atomic Vaudeville performance was called The End, and it was billed as a final show. “We wanted the audience to believe it was over so we could have a sentimental goodbye and then start all over again,” said Small.
The Atomic Vaudeville blog explains that the end of the show “was a white lie (meaning it was told by white people so come on—we lie all the time, it’s part of our cultural fabric and that’s what make us Caucasians so wacky, lovable and unpredictable...).”
The show’s former host, Flora, with her martini glass and her smeared lipstick, will only be appearing in video sequences. “In our last show,” explained Small, “what happened was her husband, who she was estranged from, finally died and she got a big insurance settlement, so she’s on a trip around the world.”
An entire family will replace Flora as host, “and they’re obsessed with Christmas,” said Small. “They’re from the south but that’s why they’ve moved to Victoria—because there are two forever-Christmas stores here. There’s a war on Christmas in the States, so that’s why they’re really

happy to be up in Canada. They’re political refugees.”
There will be familiar faces in the show. The Bush Twins and the Gay Straights are returning, but their skits and songs will be new. Small said that the question, “What is beauty?” will be answered by the end of the show, which will include a beauty pageant and a Santa’s workshop.
“We’re working on themes of beauty and the idea of infamy and fame,” said Small. “For instance, [John Mark Karr]—that’s a really interesting story for us, because it was about a young girl who was a young beauty queen, and this guy who claimed to have killed her, all seemingly just to get famous.” A John Mark Karr character has a musical act in the show.
There are some big changes in the works for Atomic Vaudeville. Their Fringe play, Legoland, was a hit in Vancouver, winning the Georgia Straight’s Critics Choice Award and returning for another short run as a “Pick of the Fringe.”
Small said the team made so many contacts in Vancouver that they’re going to be able to start putting on Atomic Vaudeville shows out of Victoria for the first time. That doesn’t mean the end of Atomic Vaudeville in Victoria, however. Small promises that they’ll stick around.
“I don’t think we could have had an Atomic Vaudeville in any other city,” she said. And it wouldn’t be the Victoria theatre scene without Atomic Vaudeville.