Reviews

(n.b) these reviews are from before the developments that saw the retitling to 'Quite Frankly'

Mum's the word when it comes to Justin Sage-Passant's one-man show Manners For Men. Drawing on the hyper-awkward comedy styles of Larry David and Ricky Gervais, Manners tells the story of Brit-git Frank Wilson, a well-spoken yet pathetic thirtysomething who is continuously haunted by a public incident of explosive diarrhea in his past. Frank now lives in perpetual servitude to his condescending and increasingly senile mother, a relationship that nicely mimics Samuel Beckett's ruminations on the burden of the elderly. To that end, Frank's morbid and excessively embarrassing relationship with his mother (he bathes her, dresses her, and even hand-washes her unmentionables) comes to a head in a hilarious, cringeworthy, and rather fitting climax. While primarily playing the role of Frank, Sage-Passant does an excellent job of seamlessly switching off between Mum and a whole host of secondary characters in a variety of settings without a set or any props, except a single chair. The result was both disgusting and beautiful.
Rating: VVVV
The Varsity, July 2007

Focussing on a relationship between a timid socially inept man and his despotic mother, Manners for Men is a one-man show in which the son, the mother, and an assortment of secondary characters are all performed by a British comic Justin Sage-Passant. It is a delight to watch the instant transformation from one role into another. All in all very enjoyable.
Blog TO, July 2007

Manners For Men explores what might happen if Buster Bluth from Arrested Development were British and got his dream job of caring for Lucille in her golden years.
Writer/performer Justin Sage-Passant shows incredible emotional and physical range in this witty and poignant narrative about a mother and son’s near pathological relationship. By juxtaposing machismo with the indignity and embarrassments that constitute real life, he not only creates an intimate codependent mother-son dynamic but also explores lots of myths about masculinity.
Four Stars out of Five. CRITIC’S PICK. NOW Magazine, July 2007

And audience members commented on eyeweekly.com:
"Justin Sage-Passant is always worth seeing, and this year’s show is as fine as ever: intelligent, vicious, gentle, and moving. And beautifully performed!"

"An adult child, trapped in eldercare, and at odds with the social expectations of “manly” behaviour, Frank struggles between duty and the call of an (admittedly pretty tame) wild. He asks so little, but still gets no respect. But from the beginning, there’s no doubt where he’ll land, proving that heroes can come in different packaging."

"What a menu of characters we get brilliantly served up by sole actor, Justin Sage-Passant. This is a touching comedy that delivers an emotional punch. I highly recommended it to you for content and performance."

"A brilliant well-crafted show with incredible heart and a superb actor… would highly recommend this show as a must see... make sure you don’t miss it."

“It is ironic,” drawls the geeky Frank (actor and writer Justin Sage-Passant) in a British accent, “that vomiting in public is considered acceptable if necessary but defecating is not.” Frank’s insight is personal: since childhood, he’s been ostracised for the actions of his weak anal sphincter. Additionally excluded from mainstream masculinity as caregiver to his ill (and abusive) mother, Frank hates sports, lager, and pokes fun at the “cocksure swagger” of other men. The writing is impeccable—perfect rhythms of humour, pathos, and wit. Jonno Katz’s direction is similarly laudable.
Vue Weekly, August 2007
Sean Connery
(n.b. Vue Weekly did not use the standard five star rating for fringe shows this year - rather they rated shows as James Bond actors: Sean Connery being the best, Daniel Craig being second, then Roger Moore, then Pierce Brosnan, then Timothy Dalton and finally George Lazenby. Controversial!)

At the start of Justin Sage-Passant's wincingly funny solo portrait of a quintessential English nebbish in a lad culture that banks machismo, Frank is wondering sadly which is the worse public faux pas - defecation or vomiting. He has reason to ask.
The socks-in-sandals brigade has never had a mousier representative than the sad-sack hero of Manners For Men. At 32, Frank Wilson is a man with a built-in slouch, grey in body, mind and footwear, and no match for his emasculating old dragon of a mother, who loses no opportunity to remind him he's no David Beckham.
For nearly a decade, the (very) English troupe Screwed & Clued has been touring Canadian Fringes with dark, driven, theatrically ingenious original insights into urban thuggery, Shakespeare's new England, the morbid streak in Pinocchio.... In some ways, this tense, exquisitely detailed little show, built from minute observation, is more brutal than any of them. It is also more poignant, as the expertly drab performance by Sage-Passant amply demonstrates.
Counterpointed to Frank's travails in the bushes, in a shoe store and at home where no indignity is too humiliating for the old gorgon to inflict upon him (he soaks her knickers in the sink and monitors her mucus production), is intermittent advice on the state of guy culture from one of the lads. Sample pick-up line when you're abroad: "Have ya got any English in ya? Would ya like some?"
As directed by the brilliantly off-centre Australian comic actor Jonno Katz, Sage-Passant populates this canvas with an inobtrusive dexterity and precision that matches his writing: the melancholy Frank, stoical in his anorak; the maternal sadist to whom he's pathologically devoted; the manly 21st century blokes who can get a drink in a crowded bar by a kind of male semaphore.
Liz Nichols, The Edmonton Journal FOUR STARS (out of five), August 2007

The English company of Screwed & Clued has brought us some superlative fare over the years - including their memorable shows Shooting Up Shakespeare and En-Ger-Land.
The troupe has changed and morphed and now seems to be composed of Justin Sage-Passant.
This year Screwed & Clued is presenting Manners for Men, a great departure from their previous fare.
As macho and aggressive as their early up-from-the-streets works were, so Manners for Men is a thoughtful study of the pathologically co-dependant relationship of an aged and deteriorating old woman and her caregiving son.
The pace is slow and the mood melancholy and poignant. The success of the work is completely dependent on Sage-Passant's exceptional emotive abilities.
The writer/actor's Frank Wilson is a 32-year-old bachelor who lives with his increasingly senile mother. Frank is slow witted and his past has been tarnished with memories of embarrassing attacks of diarrhea in public and an unfortunate incident where he was arrested for showing a more than normal interest in women's feet in a shoe store.
Frank's life now consists in caring for his embittered mother, bathing her, looking after her most intimate needs while she constantly attacks him for his lack of manliness - comparing him to that robust English stud, David Beckham.
Sprinkled through Sage-Passant's funny/sad tale are a number of high-energy commentators who describe in detail what it takes to be a man in today's society.
Needless to say, Frank need not apply.
What makes all this work is Sage-Passant's ability to instantly and believably switch characters and his minutely observed recreation of Frank's daily existence. The story is simple enough, but the detail is astonishing as the poor sod is brought to vivid life - if what he is living can be called a life.
I suppose there is very little hope for Frank - he'll never break out of his crummy bubble, but through a skilful performer, you do begin to care for him.
The ending of the story is much in keeping with what has gone before but strikes a note of hope.
For some, life will never be about the big victory. It's counted in the little ones that get you through the day.
You won't forget Frank in a hurry.
Colin Maclean, Edmonton Sun. FOUR STARS (out of five), August 2007

Pity poor Frank. Ostracized by his neighbours, henpecked by his overbearing mother, deserted by his dad, Frank’s not having what you’d call a good life. But in classic British fashion, Frank quietly endures - and we watch, rapt, as he slides deeper into quiet desperation.
If it sounds gloomy - well, for the most part, it is. Writer/performer Justin Sage-Passant and director Jonno Katz do inject some welcome lighter comedic breaks into the monologue, particularly when Sage-Passant slides into other characters (like a pick-up line spouting hairdresser). With the harsh tragicomedy of Frank’s life, we could do with more of these breaks.
But this is Frank’s story, and Sage-Passant (under Katz’s skilled direction) brings him to life with a precise, subtle, and bravely understated performance. This is not light Fringe fare by any stretch (it should be billed as “comedy” only in the darkest sense). But it is a remarkable performance.
FOURS STARS
Joff Schimdt, CBC, July 2008

Manners for Men begins with a bang — an explosion, anyway — as our nebbish narrator recounts the bowel-related mishap that earned him the nickname Skid Mark Frank as a child, and consigned him to his fate as a perpetual mama’s boy decades later.
A twitching, slow-talking social misfit who enjoys wandering the streets of his lower-class British neighbourhood while football matches are in play (because everyone else is off watching the game, natch), Frank winds up spending most of his time attending to his haranguing mother, an acid-tongued invalid whose resentment of her son has done more to screw him up than any childhood trauma ever could.
But actor Justin Sage-Passant imbues Frank which so much pathos and eloquence, it’s impossible not to feel for him as he nervously navigates the queue at a local pub, or encounters a lad’s mag for the first time, or weathers yet another shameful scandal involving a ladies shoe store and a game of pocket pool.
And by play’s end, as Frank ponders the true measure of a man, Sage-Passant has made it clear that heroes come in all sizes. Heck, some of ‘em even come with skid marks.
Sun Rating: 4.5 stars
David Schmeichel, Winnipeg Sun, July 2008

Manners for Men tells the story of Frank, a repressed thirty-something Brit who still lives with his mother. His idea of a liberating adventure is going out for a walk and getting swept up by a crowd, and is still haunted by an unfortunate incident in which he lost control of his bowels in public. This may sound like an unpromising character, but, in the hands of Screwed & Clued's Justin Sage-Passant, he isn't. Sage-Passant is one of the best Fringe actors I have seen at creating compelling characters. He captures Frank's nerdy voice and cramped mannerisms perfectly, turning him into a totally believable character. Then with just a slight change in inflection and by making his hand shake seemingly uncontrollably, does the same for Frank's mother.
Initially, as Frank begins recounting his absurd adventures, I found the play to be very funny with plenty of laughs generated from Frank's odd behaviour and the strange and simplistic way he looks at things. As the play progresses and we learn more about his life with his horrid overbearing mother, the tone of the play changes, and I found my feelings tending more toward pity than mirth. By the time the play reaches its bittersweet conclusion, one really doesn't know whether to laugh or cry. The strength of Sage-Passant's performance lies in the fact that he is able to create both of these responses in his audience with equal intensity. This is about as fine a balance between humour and pathos as I have seen at the Fringe
Terry Moor UMFM, July 2008