Sydney Reviews

No canned laughter at the full house sell-out season of The Can Principle, at the Bondi Pavilion Theatre, just a constant ripple of the real, a cascade of cachinnation as self-proclaimed guru, Merv Gimplick espouses his 'game-changing' life philosophy.

The sun and surf mecca of Bondi Beach is the perfect space to pitch his one preposterous promise: sunshine in a tin. Silver tongued Mervin is promising the bronzed denizens the golden sun itself and he's almost certain he can deliver it!

In a solar eclipse of chutzpah, Merv unravels his marvellous scam plan, inspired by a childhood memory of cracking open a souvenir can labelled "Genuine Australian Sunshine" and finding absolutely nothing inside.

Following the unedifying edict that "there's a sucker born every minute", the show skewers the modern self-improvement economy in a piss-take parody of today's 'gurus' and snake-oil salesmen.

Written and performed by Jonny Pasvolsky, The Can Principle is a manic monologue about what it takes to re-invent yourself in the face of failure and the self-proclaimed 'experts' lining up to take your money for nothing! 

Optimist or opportunist depends on your optics. When he's told to "can it" he opts for "can do" instead and tells naysayers to stick it where the sun don't shine. No way anybody is calling him a can't. Although there's many who do!

Direct from sell-out shows at Adelaide Fringe and the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, this absurd amusement draws on Pasvolsky's experience migrating from South Africa to Australia and the awkward business of navigating some stark, cultural differences. In The Can Principle he turns bull dust into theatrical star dust, comic sunshine, overcast moments and finally, a silver lining, presenting a very personable character, a roguish alter ego. Further seasons are mooted, as is a television adaptation. There's certainly enough narrative backstory, both hilarious and tragic, to accommodate expansion.