Siamese twins. Cross-dressing. Severed heads.
The freaks are out to play
and they’re as entertaining as they are absurd.

I’m talking, of course, about Triad Stage’s production of Debunked, Alexander Woo’s wickedly hilarious farce about conjoined twins and their fantastic powers of entertainment.
The play begins modestly enough. It opens with a young reporter trying to secure an interview with the supposed beautiful but reclusive young Virginia-Anne.
But by the second scene, we get a schizophrenic drag queen and a shrieking ‘conversation parrot.’ By the third scene, there’s kidnapping and conjoined twins.
If this strikes you as funny rather than freakish, make a date to see Debunked.
Debunked, commissioned specifically for Triad Stage, takes place in Wilkesboro, N.C. in 1837, making it especially appealing to a Greensboro audience. Though the old South accents are not flawless, many of the mannerisms are dead on, especially Kirtan Coan’s brilliant portrayal of the high-maintenance, aging Southern belle.
The rest of the cast also offers solid performances. Lisa Bowers and Caitlin Van Hecke are perversely funny as twins Virginia and Anne Kincaid, whose acting skills are matched by their ability to move seamlessly despite being attached at the waist. Mark Boyett, the disturbed and boisterous Dr. Beauregard, plays an eerily alluring, fast-talking Southern gent who considers the future of entertainment to be medical freaks.
Nothing about this bizarre comedy is understated, and the technical designs only add to the production’s hysteria.
Alexander Dodge’s bright and punchy set of primary colors is eye candy. Matched by both John Wolf’s dizzying but imaginative lighting design and Jason Romney’s circus-inspired sound, all of the elements combine to bring off the comedy.
April Soroko, Guilford’s own Assistant Professor of Theatre Studies, designed the play’s complicated costumes. Her beautiful designs are key for the suspension of disbelief – important in a play this farcical.
Undoubtedly there are a few failed jokes and bad puns, but overall Debunked kept me laughing. With each scene more outlandish than the last, Director Preston Lane keeps the pace quick and the story line fresh. Drop-kicked heads, conversations with sexual organs, and references to “The Exorcist” are just a few of the jaw-dropping moments he infuses into the production.
Clearly, Debunked is not meant as an agent for social change. It offers no thought-provoking message. Its aim is to entertain, and entertain it does.
If you’re tired of the same old Guilford drone, go see Debunked for a night of unconventional humor. But be prepared to feel giddy, and not a little bit disturbed.
For more information about Debunked or the Triad Stage Theatre, call (336) 272-0160 or visit www.triadstage.org.