Heart of the Storm:
Bil Antoniou just can't help being viciously funny

BY DREW ROWSOME  -

"I tried to write clearly about their toxic relationships," says Bil Antoniou about his play Heart of the Storm. "People are finding it funnier than I expected." Antoniou is known for his wit and sharp sarcasm in his previous play Brain Food, his movie review website myoldaddiction.com, his journalism (including MyGayToronto.com) and as half of the podcast BGM: Bad Gay Movies = Bitchy Gay Men.

The premise is very Noel Coward by way of TMZ,

A hotel bar on a Caribbean island that has been devastated by a hurricane.
A couple are reunited thirty years after their divorce, and the hurricane is about to become the second-worst thing to hit this place.
Oscar-winning actor Serge sits and waits for a phone call that will let him know if he is going to star in the sequel to his own hit movie.
Pop star Melinda is between world tours and arrives ready to devote herself to helping the needy.
She needs to get some rest, he is waiting for news, and neither of them wants to catch up. 

"It's not based on anyone officially," says Antoniou. "But everyone should feel free to draw their own conclusions or speculate. It's always fascinated me about philanthropic work. You see them collecting awards and applause for their efforts. Friends have said, 'They're just doing it for the publicity.' Like when someone builds a school in Malawi, even if she's doing it for the wrong reasons, she's still doing good." 

That's not the only conundrum that Antoniou felt compelled to explore in Heart of the Storm. "How is it for them? How do they balance the desire to help with the need for adulation? Do they have doubts? Guilt? And in this case, how do you keep world issues in the forefront when you're dealing with the love of your life? I'm interested in complicated motives, people are never good or bad. I like putting people up against each other and having them push each other's buttons. I guess I could write a play where people all get along but it would be boring. Who wants to see that?"

How vicious does it get? "They're a bitter ex-couple," says Antoniou. "They get a little violent with each other . . ."

There is one more line to the official synopsis that appears to echo the psycho-savagery of Brain Food, 

Antoniou insists that "needy" is not consciously a condition he is trying to exorcise or explore artistically. "Though if you asked anyone who knows me well, they'd probably say that it is within my pathology." 

Antoniou is overjoyed with The Heart of the Storm's stellar cast comprised of Rosemary Doyle the doyenne of The Red Sandcastle Theatre, Jerome Bourgault who "just gave a really great audition so I picked him," and comedian Robert Keller. "I met Robert in my capacity as a journalist. He hosts a monthly, OUTrageous, of queer comics at Yuk Yuks, He's very funny and charismatic. He plays the third wheel, but not in a bad way. It's not a substantial part and he might be too talented for it. But he wanted to work."

The Heart of the Storm is about characters and relationships and in the confines of The Red Sandcastle Theatre every drop of vitriol will be felt. That will be the only assault on the audience's sensibilities and funny bones. "The action takes place after the storm," emphasizes Antoniou. "I won't be writing any special effects until I have a budget where I'm not spending my savings."