Freakaphrenic (FringeTIX)
Carnival of Hellucinations @ a little tent in the middle of The Garden
8:30pm, Mon 19 Mar 2007
Relatively frequently you happen upon a show that makes you think “WTF?”
Rather less frequently, over the course of the show that “WTF?” becomes a “WFB” – or Why Fucking Bother.
Freakaphrenic definitely falls into the latter category. It appears to be little more than an excuse for a trio of peeps to dress up in a collection of “crazy” costumes (quoted because I feel like giving them the benefit of the doubt) and poorly “acting” (again with the quotes) out a series of pointless “scenes”. It was like a really crapulent Jet of Blood with no production values. They enlist the help of an audience member who sits onstage for twenty minutes who managed to look bored (nineteen minutes) and confused (the remainder).
As far as cabaret goes, this is pretty foul. Theatre? Sub-par. Comedy? Ummm… no.
I mean, really – Why Fucking Bother?
Read the ad in The Guide again and learn from this mistake, kids. Not every short show promising cannibals, police, surgical manipulation, grotesque creatures, magicians, circus skullduggery, ghosts, heavy-metal vampire-nuns, religious freaks and pantomime-noir is going to deliver the goods.