Saturday night at midnight - Midnight Theatre's latest play had it's opening night in the World's End Tavern in the Lower City of Shattrath City. A night of culture, laughter, witty writing and a lot of people. No, really, a lot.
The Midnight Theatre is the theatre troupe behind the renowned play
"Cabbage Ron and the city of Stormwind" and their latests play,
"Puuru's Predicament" was met with great expectations - the standard of quality set by the previous play not only made the audience expect an absolutely amazing performance, it had also made people from near and far turn up to the play, to such a degree that the place was packed. It started filling up over half an hour before show time.
Their last play featured Cabbage Ron, a somewhat naive farmer who went to the big city to sell his cabbage so his and his family could make it through the winter months. Along the journey he saw peril in forms of corrupt guards, diabolical Ren'doreis and temptatious Draenei. It all ended with Cabbage Ron getting stabbed by a cuck of a husband who believed his wife's stories rather than realizing she was a cheating cuckold. Luckily the King showed up in the final act, healed Ron and somehow - almost willingly - at least totally not pressuring him - made him sign up for the army. We have been promised a sequel - which a lot of us hope will finally elaborate on how Ron's family make it through the winter without neither cabbage, or money from said cabbage. And I'm looking at you Eugene Ross. They better make it.
Eugene Ross is the man behind both plays. He is the writer and is also known to perform at Bertel Wobblespring's monthly poetry meetings in Stormwind. A man of culture, but also a humble and quiet one. Yet his writing is out of this world and there is a good reason people besiege the locals where his plays are performed.
"Puuru's Predicament" features a young - everything is relative - Draenei woman (played by Kaorra) who goes on an adventure to explore Azaroth, unfortunately she only makes it to Ironforge where she runs into a megalomaniac gnome who (surprise!) wants to be Caliph instead of the Caliph, or rather, he wants to control King Gelbin Mekkatorque via a mind-control cake. The gnome manages to persuade Puuru to help him deliver the cake, but Puuru unfortunately has a sweet-tooth and ends up eating of said cake and falls under the gnome's control.
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For rest of the story you will have to attend the next performance, which according to Eugene Ross is
"sometime in the next two to three weeks". But sufficient to say is that poor Puuru gets into some awkward situations - you might say - predicaments, and the whole play breaks the fourth wall rather soundly.
"Puuru's Predicament" is an amazing play. However, that said, comparing
"Puuru's Predicament" to
"Cabbage Ron" then I have to admit I am slightly disappointed. The story seems lacklustre in comparison. We are introduced to this young Draenei's adventurous journey, but she never makes it past Ironforge. That is like promising a three course dinner but only serving the starters.
Besides some clever lines and witty banter then not much happens in this play compared to
"Cabbage Ron" who saw the classic three event storyline with a crescendo where Ron gets (almost) killed. Compared to that then the only real peril Puuru seems to find herself in during
"Puuru's Predicament" is dancing for a few people. There seems to be no real menace. Sure, there is a gnome trying to control the gnome King, but its so much of a cliché none of the audience really expect it to happen. It feels disconnected and without impact. There is no stakes in my opinion and it makes for a more tame experience than
"Cabbage Ron" where emotions ran high and you felt gripped by the story.
The negative aside then "Puuru's Predicament" is a solid play, it plays with your expecations in clever ways, it highlights and mocks some racial stereotypes and the lines used in the verbal fights in the play are both hilarious and rude at the same time.
Thoradim:Who let tha cosmic cattle outta bloody pens?
Thoradim: Och! Och! By MOTHER's non-dairy electro-glands!
Pinkroft: The gall! Hey, goat, attack this brazen wench!
Puuru: Oh, no... Oh, kind lady, please, just flee...Or Puuru vill... vill have to use zis vrench!
I am going to recommend you go see it when you can, and you will most likely find me there for a second time.
"Purru's Predicament" gets four out of six top-hats.