Fringe Festival Reviews: The Comedy in the Tragic

The Hollywood Fringe Festival is back, and with over 400 shows engaging thousands of artists, I would venture to bet that there is something out there for everyone. If you haven’t been before, I implore you to take advantage of this unique and low-commitment celebration occurring in your backyard.

Fringe shows tend to be quick, most run about an hour, offering audiences bursts of the experimentation and ingenuity you can only find in small black boxes with creative teams that are definitely losing money on their productions. Some shows are great, most aren’t, but there is an undeniable charm to Fringe. It is creation for the sake of creativity, and certainly worth an afternoon of your time if you are remotely interested in theater, art, and the avant-garde.

This week, I began my HFF journey with three dark comedies: In For A Penny, Bedwetting, and Rock Bottom, respectively. The general genre of ‘dark comedy’ is about all I can do to thematically link these high-concept and high-energy pieces together in any meaningful way. 

In drawing my triple Venn diagram, I can fill out the peripheral fields: two are solo performances comically unearthing a deep-seated dissatisfaction with life and self, two engage subplots surrounding addiction as a coping mechanism for mistreatment and even abuse, and two have British accents! But all three? It is a tall order. After you see each show, let me know if you have any ideas for that critical middle intersection.

In for a Penny

Written by Crystal Keith and directed by Jacob Sidney (both of whom also perform in the play), In for a Penny tells the story of Dr. James Bryant, a modern day criminologist and professor who, after happening upon a time-tunnel to the year 1888, becomes obsessed with catching Jack the Ripper, or better yet, stopping him. 

Self-described as “feminist, funny, and dark as f*ck,” the play boasts a large cast, exciting accents, and vicious murders. Though rooted in history, In For a Penny offers a modern commentary, exploring the experiences of sex-workers, women, and queer people, past and present, and the violence done to them intentionally or unintentionally by men.

Cut down to Fringe length from a stand alone play, this production of In for a Penny is significantly abridged from its original material. Consequently, some of the crucial plotlines and themes become murky amid the fast-paced action of the murders and manhunt. While I appreciate the time afforded to the victims (Keith devotes a number of scenes to their development and agency), the social commentary feels half-baked as the play is told through the self-actualization of a man who cannot save the women around him. I would be interested to see the full-length version of the piece, wherein the plot and characters are granted more room to breathe.

In for a Penny runs for 4 more shows (including a virtual live stream) at The Broadwater (Black Box), 6322 Santa Monica Blvd, Los Angeles. Tickets are available here.

Bedwetting

The first of two solo-shows reviewed here, Bedwetting is the autobiographical account of LA-based performance artist Annie Laurie Daniel. After achieving a degree of commercial success in their childhood, Daniel grapples with their personal identity and adult artistic career– one rife with isolation, substance abuse, and a painful dramatic irony. 

Half comedy routine, half tragedy, Bedwetting is fearless, to say the least. Daniel does not shy away from their own faults, instead challenging the audience to sit with them and even participate in some of their most vulnerable and humiliating moments. Bedwetting is acutely interested in the viscous nature of heteronormativity and child stardom (stardom may be a strong word here), and paints both a personal and generational portrait of a psyche bombarded by internet, social media, and the imminent end of the world.

Ultimately, Bedwetting is a very Gen-Z production, relying on an internet humor that presupposes a degree of TikTok literacy within its audience. The piece aspires to critical self-awareness while simultaneously indulging in its own exhibitionism. Daniel’s interludes of poetry lend overall structure, and a few more moments of sobering reflection would more evenly balance the mania of Daniel’s downward spiral with the learned reflection and humility necessary to their arc. Avant-garde and rated-R, Bedwetting is not for the faint of heart, but then again, neither is growing up. 

Catch Bedwetting for its last two performances on June 15th and 16th at The Broadwater (studio), 1078 Lillian Way, Los Angeles. Tickets are available here.

Rock Bottom

All the way from England, Charlie Day brings Fresh Life Theatre’s Rock Bottom to Hollywood Fringe. This one-man tragicomedy follows the Bard’s own Nick Bottom as he attempts to save a production of Pyramus and Thisbe after discovering that his crew and co-stars have abandoned the show, and him with it. What starts as a laugh-out-loud showcase of clowning and Day’s impressive comedy chops slowly devolves into a much more grounded and poetic meditation on Bottom’s profound isolation and deep despondence.

From the intelligent writing to Day’s full-bodied performance, Rock Bottom scores 10s across the board. The piece combines a myriad of styles, from pantomime to song to poetic verse, while engaging a host of Shakespeare’s most famous works. Day effortlessly shepherds the audience through this rollercoaster of Bottom’s inner life, deftly managing transitions from outright clowning to reflective soliloquy that would give Hamlet a run for his money (though, according Bottom’s memory of things, he should be credited as the original philosopher behind “to be or not to be” anyways).

Rock Bottom, carried by Charlie Day’s charm and charisma, is a mesmerizing modern ode to classic theatre. Maybe I am a sucker for European theatre, but I found myself genuinely laughing out loud at all of Bottom’s “proper jokes,” and quite affected by his poeticism. So, there is no need to be coy about it, I loved the show.

See Rock Bottom at one of its four additional performances at The Broadwater (studio), 1078 Lillian Way, Los Angeles. Tickets are available here.