Now, a Lunenburg County playwright has taken the art of poking fun at male private parts one step further by penning a series of stage vignettes which he collectively calls "That Penis Thing."

 Dave Brumwell says he got the idea to write the play after going to a Vince Morash show in Halifax with several friends, one of whom was Lunenburg resident Georgia Morris, who directed a local stage production of the "Vagina Monologues."

 "We were just sitting, chatting like you do and having a bit of fun before the show, and we started talking about the 'Vagina Monologues,'" he recalls. "Somebody, and I don't even know who it was, said, 'You know, we should write a men's answer to that, but I guess it's been done.' We chatted about that and had a few laughs, and that was it, really."

 When he got home, however, Mr. Brumwell said he started to think about such a project a bit more seriously and decided that, while he did not want to write something that would be either like, or the opposite of, Eve Ensler's award-winning play, "There is a lot of material that we could have some great fun with.

 "So, I started kicking some ideas around and two or three skits came out. And I started talking to people and the next thing we decided that we're going to have to go with doing it," he says.

 Mr. Brumwell describes his creation as "Monty Pythonesque" in nature, a tribute to the British comedy troupe of the 1960s of which he is a huge fan.

  "This is really unique. We talk about every subject you can think of, and we tried to make it incredibly funny," he explains, adding, however, that there is also a serious side to the subject.

 "Men don't talk about their problems, ever. We just don't. We go to the doctor, maybe, when it gets really serious. But women, if they have a problem with, say, their sex life or something like that, they'll talk to a friend about it," he says. "But guys, we don't go and tell other guys we didn't get an erection last night. That's the height of embarrassment. So this stuff sort of gets set to one side and a lot of men go through life … just thinking that's how it is."

 He says he believes that by addressing sexual problems men might be experiencing in a humorous way, it might make them become aware that there is help available to improve their situation should they need or want it.

 "That Penis Thing," which features a nine-member cast of local actors, including Mr. Brumwell, is being directed by Mahone Bay's Sherry Dean, whom he describes as "a fabulous director.

 "She is absolutely amazing," he says. "She has done lots of stuff [including] work with the Women of Wolfville who have done lots of this kind of thing."

 Mr. Brumwell says he believes the play, which runs about 90 minutes in length, will attract an audience comprised of both genders, "with a probable bias to the female of the species.

 "There is always a fascination about the opposite sex's interesting parts, even more so when their malfunctions are being highlighted in a comical way," he laughs.

 Along with bringing humour to an often touchy subject, Mr. Brumwell says he wants the play to also serve as a fundraising vehicle for certain local charities.

 "We'll be raising money for fire halls and that type of thing and probably trying to split the gate with them. So the half the gate we get will pay for all the costumes and the sets," he explains.

 Performances are slated for four local fire departments, Martins River on April 4, Conquerall Bank April 18, Blockhouse May 2 and Petite Riviere May 30.

 The show will also be presented at the Mahone Bay Centre May 1 and at the Days Inn in Bridgewater April 17 as a fundraiser for the Sexual Health Centre.

 For more information contact Sherry Dean at 531-2314 or Lyne Hoeg at 644-2823.