HOW TO APOLOGY
BATS Theatre, The Heyday Dome, 1 Kent Tce, Wellington
04/09/2019 - 04/09/2019
Production Details
Debut Sad-Boy Show
This interactive seminar fuses storytelling, scenography and comedy to explore how we deal with things we wish we went differently.
Wednesday 4th September – 6.30pm
ONE PERFORMER TACKLES 5 DIFFERENT SHOWS IN 1 WEEK AT THE INTER-FENN-TION.
From the 3rd to the 7th of September 2019, NZ Spirit of the Fringe George Fenn will be attempting 5 different shows over 1 week at BATS Theatre.
The Inter-FENN-tion includes Fringe Faves from the last 3 years, as well as 2 exciting debut works by prolific solo alternative comedy theatre-maker George Fenn.
After making work in Wellington for 7 years, this show represents a coming of age for the locally acclaimed artist as they prepare to take their work across the ditch and from there, all over the world.
George’s work is noted for its innovation and incorporation of interactive elements. Having trained with Playshop since their conception in 2012, George uses his Improvisational skills to create shows where the audience contributes to the narrative and story so they leave feeling like they have made something as opposed to just watched something.
George believes people mistake this kind of work as cutting edge, when people have been pushing boundaries for decades. “Little of my work is experimental, but most of it is a bit weird. It’s important not to confuse the two and know when you’re doing something intentionally and when your trying something new.”
George considers himself at war with comedians who use interaction as a gag. Often you see people handle their audience with an ironic negligence to get a laugh from the crowd. “If your humour relies on making one person look bad so everyone else can laugh at them you’re not a comedian, you’re a bully and embarrassment and get off my stage.”
All shows start at BATS Theatre at 6:30, with tickets priced $15-$20. Most shows will be performed in the Heyday Dome, except for Router Sidewalker, a magical improvised walking tour of Wellington where the audience picks the direction. With 87 performances of Router Sidewalker across Wellington, Christchurch, Nelson, Dunedin, Hastings, Palmerston North and Auckland, George insists it hasn’t gotten old yet.
You can book tickets to the Inter-Fenn-Tion from the BATS Website
https://bats.co.nz/whats-on/inter-fenn-tion/
List of Performances
Tuesday 3rd September –
Router Sidewalker FRINGE CULT CLASSIC
After 87 performances around the Country, Router once again returns to Wellington for an improvised, audience driven magical journey which peels back familiar streets to reveal the fantastical world beneath the cracks. Bring walking shoes and dress for the weather.
Wednesday 4th September –
How To Apology DEBUT SAD-BOY SHOW
This interactive seminar fuses storytelling, scenography and comedy to explore how we deal with things we wish we went differently.
Thursday 5th September –
Post Modern Bon Jo Vi DEBUT EXPERIMENTAL LONG FORM POETRY
A development of an infamous performance concept in which George entertains for a whole hour speaking only in lyrics from the five Bon Jo Vi songs that everyone knows. It is also George’s Birthday.
Friday 6th September –
Solo Yeet SOLO IMPROVISATION COMEDY
George defends his undisputed title of the Bad Boy of New Zealand Improv in this pure test of spontaneous athleticism. A one hour battle with his own mind, come and watch George sweat.
Saturday 7th September –
Sexy Ghost Boy HOT SH*T CLOWN SHOW
Wine, dine and divine with a sultry summoning of the dammed soul known only as the sexy ghost boy. Too sexy for heaven, too sexy for hell, Sexy Ghost Boy haunts sexy audience as limbo is super not sexy.
George’s acclaim includes but is not limited to: Spirit of the Fringe, Most Unique Show + Outstanding Performer at Christchurch Comedy Carnival, Most Original Concept and Best Design at Nelson Fringe Fest, uncontested Bad Boy of New Zealand Improv.
Theatre , Solo ,
Generates interest in the mundane
Review by John Smythe 05th Sep 2019
The first thing George Fenn needs to apologise for is using a noun in place of a verb in his title. Not that he does (apologise for that, I mean). But maybe he’s entitled to a bit of compassion. Making this show cannot have been a labour of love given it means always having to say he’s sorry. Which he does, a lot. That, in essence, is the show.
Subtitled his ‘Debut Sad Boy Show’ he takes the risk of being melancholy – and it works; it draws us in. Perhaps we accept his apologies in the expectation that once he has cleansed his soul, he will get on with the tutorial the title suggests. But he doesn’t, which of course he apologises for.
What creeps up on you is a sense of a lived life, or glimpses of it anyway. It could be more densely packed in that respect but his messing about with PowerPoint technology and props – including an old-fashioned filing cabinet, a drink, a mic and some masks – adds visual variety and gives him plenty to apologise for.
Animals including fish and women receive his admissions of guilt. And by way of contrast an unpleasant flatmate gets the ‘sorry/not sorry’ treatment.
If there are rules about how to start a show and how to finish one, not to mention how to work with your props and treat you audience in the process, How to Apology makes a virtue of breaking them.
And now I’m sorry but there’s not much more I can say about it except that it’s the second in a week-long festival of one-off solo shows collectively called Inter-FENN-tion. How to Apology is one of two new shows while the other three are return seasons of earlier faves.
As always, George Fenn intrigues with his idiosyncratic investigations into being human – in this case generating interest in the mundane.
Copyright © in the review belongs to the reviewer
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