Anorexican at the Vancouver Fringe

Posted by Lori Henry Sep 16, 2007

I went to a Vancouver Fringe Festival show last night that I was, to be honest, hesitant about. Called “Anorexican,” it was a comedy about eating disorders. Scary if done wrong but brilliant if done right. And brilliant it was.

Introducing anorexia as an island, it’s located beside bulimia and the small landmass of orthorexia. Statistics are used to explain the “population” that lives there, the rate of “immigration” and even the “tourist industry.” Becky Johnson then assumes a multitude of characters to show eating disorders from different perspectives, ages and walks of life.

The laugh-out-loud moments are often followed by still silence from the audience. Her dynamic presence keeps the show flowing along smoothly as each character surprises the crowd with shocking comments that are so normal to an anorexic.

The research done is impeccable and her understanding of the disorders runs deep. Her expert touch of comedy makes the overall effect extremely powerful, even to those who clearly had little knowledge of anorexia.

Becky has already received an award for the show, the Spotlight Award for Outstanding Performance. It was given at the world premier of the show at the 2007 SummerWorks Theatre Festival in Toronto.

Check out her show web site here.

And find out more about her non-eating disorder-related endevors here.