Here’s an extra bonus piece of crap writing (and crapper recollection): an impromptu show held at TuxCat late on March 9 (or early on March 10).
The full title feels like a joke: A Young Man Dressed As A Gorilla Dressed As An Old Man Sits Rocking In A Rocking Chair For Fifty-Six Minutes And Then Leaves, While On The Other Side Of The Planet Another Young Man Dressed As A Gorilla Dressed As An Old Man Sits Rocking In A Rocking Chair For Fifty-Six Minutes And Then Leaves.
But that’s pretty much exactly what happened.
In front of an audience of familiar Fringe faces – artists, mostly, but also venue staff and regulars – it becomes obvious pretty quickly that Gorilla / Gorilla is an opportunity to let off steam; a chance for the people who make the Fringe to sit back, cheer on an absurd “event”, make lame jokes without fear of judgement, and generally just unwind.
As for the Gorillas: they just sat and rocked. Adelaide Gorilla’s rocking chair had a gradual forward motion, and a ramp was quickly found (I’m assuming in an attempt to see if Adelaide Gorilla could perform a spectacular jump). On the screen behind him, we saw the feed of Other Gorilla, who saw no such action (but had some interesting passers-by peek in through the window that Other Gorilla rocked beside).
Although, at one point, Other Gorilla changed which direction he was facing. The crowd erupted.
But there was one other great moment during Gorilla / Gorilla: a drunk punter off the street had stood at the back of the crowd, muttering to himself. Every minute or so – usually in response to some cheering from the audience (a stranger walking past Other Gorilla, perhaps) – he would raise his voice: “I don’t get it.” Later: “What are you people laughing at?” Later still, and clearly more agitated (with his voice creating a sense of discomfort for those around him), he boomed: “Someone explain it to me.”
To which (the awesome) Tomás Ford turned around and called back “It’s not for you.”
The guy left. The Artists won.
Art won.