insidetoronto.com

This is the beginning of many hilarious circumstances in the next production to hit The Assembly Hall, a French bedroom farce called Pajama Tops, being staged by newcomers Kanaidjun Entertainment.

The Etobicoke-based entertainment company, headed by Katherine Bignell who is also directing the show, is a multi-faceted company that also champions the work of local artists, hosts events and will eventually produce short film and video.

However, theatre is their main passion, Bignell said, and after having success with their debut show last November, they hope more Etobians will embrace them and come to see their shows, which they say are different than what's currently being offered.

"We're trying to provide a type of theatre in Etobicoke that we don't normally see," Bignell said. "We see a lot of musicals and comedies here, which are great, but our shows will hopefully provide some different entertainment."

Based on the French farce Moumou by Jean de Letraz, this version of Pajama Tops by Mawby Green and Ed Feilbert, is a comedic farce at its best but different than the British or American ones.

"British farces are door slamming and American is a lot of dialogue humour, but true traditional French farce is about innuendo and blatant right in your face French maid showing her naughty bits, it's certainly not your grandma's farce," Bignell said.

Set in the city of Deauville, France, in the villa of George and Yvonne Chauvinet, on an August morning, George announces he is set to leave on yet another business trip.

"To his surprise his wife lets him know he doesn't have to go away on business because she has invited his business friends, Madame and Monsieur Latouche, to visit their home," she said.

This gets the snowball effect of error rolling because he was really planning to see his mistress Babette, or Madame Latouche, who he hasn't sealed the deal with and was planning to that weekend, said Etobicoke resident Gabriel DiFabio who plays George.

"It's his fault because his trying to have an affair with another woman is what starts everything," he said.

Babette accepts the invitation because she thinks it's from her single boyfriend George, so when she arrives Georges has to figure out how to keep his wife and mistress apart, Bignell said.

"It's a typical farce in that the characters keep getting deeper and deeper into the mess that's getting bigger and bigger," she said.

Luckily his old friend Leonard shows up and takes on the role of Babette's husband, but Leonard has no idea he's just agreed to much more than he bargained for.

Once Yvonne finds out about Babette, she's determined to take on a lover of her own. Once Babette finds out George is married she too decides to look for revenge and even their maid wants in on some action. Suddenly, Leonard is a popular guy.

"All three ladies are looking for love and while Leonard is asleep, one of these ladies comes into his bedroom wearing a pajama top and shows him all the ways of love," Bignell said. "But the next morning, all three ladies come out wearing one so we don't know who it was."

The mystery, of who it is, isn't the only secret in this show. DiFabio said everyone in this play has something to hide, including the butler, and the story is loaded with plot twists and surprises.

"These people are faced with so many challenging situations they have to cover up, and just when they figure out a way to do it, something else happens," DiFabio said.

Pajama Tops runs May 1 and 2, 8 p.m. and May 3, 2 p.m. at The Assembly Hall, 1 Colonel Samuel Smith Park Dr. Tickets are $18, $15 for students and seniors and $10 for groups of 10 or more. For tickets call 416-746-3871.