Interludes

VIEWPOINTS – Going to emotional extremities at SoHo Playhouse’s INTERNATIONAL FRINGE ENCORE SERIES

• By drediman
• February 6, 2024
• No Comments

Over the past week or so, I took in a pair of shows at SoHo Playhouse‘s International Fringe Encore Series, a welcome opportunity for New Yorkers to bask in the eclectic riches of various fringe festivals around the globe. Here are my thoughts on these recent encounters, both of which were previous offerings of the popular Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

BACON
By Sophie Swithinbank

First up was Sophie Swithinbank’s Bacon (RECOMMENDED), an International Fringe Encores Series offering that ended its limited New York run last week. In short, the two-hander depicts the turbulent relationship between two high schoolers — both in hormonal overdrive — as they tensely navigate restrictive societal constraints and their own budding sexuality. Although cautionary tales about toxic masculinity vis-à-vis gay coming-of-age chronicles are always welcome, I can’t help feeling that the most impactful time for this kind of play has somewhat passed. Chief among the show’s pleasures were the terrific tug-of-war performances by William Robinson and Corey Montague-Sholay. Robinson was a combustible cauldron of sadness and rage, while on the other end of the spectrum, Montague-Sholay was awash in aching sensitivity. Together, they performed a dangerous dance of desire and shame whose sway was driven by repression and youthful vulnerability. The minimalist production was tightly staged by Matthew Iliffe, who did well to keep the level of intensity high throughout (kudos particularly to Ryan Joseph Stafford’s razor-sharp lighting design).

ABERDEEN
By Cassie Workman

Also going to emotional extremities is the current International Fringe Encores Series presentation of the strange new solo show Aberdeen (RECOMMENDED) written and performed by Cassie Workman. In essence, the work is an elaborate meditation — ambitiously written in rhyming couplets — on the life, death, and legacy of Kurt Cobain, the Nirvana frontman and reluctant cultural icon who committed suicide at the height of his fame. In an effort to connect with her idol, Workman has conjured a phantasmagorical flight of fancy that collapses time and space — calling to mind a grim contemporary version of A Christmas Carol. The result is a sort of séance, a fever dream in which two tortured souls hash out existential musings. As a piece of writing, Aberdeen is an imaginatively plotted and resourcefully worded concoction that’s as transporting as it is hallucinatory. Workman (giving serious Stevie Nicks vibes) gives a pungent, haunted performance that basks in its own strangeness and intensity. Those of you looking for more unusual solo fare should look no further. With its richly evocative imagery, Workman’s atmospheric and ghostly hourlong foray into spoken word will lead you to unlikely destinations, where she’s likely to capture your imagination.