The Cruelest Phone Book in the World

Craving Space Productions—School of Contemporary Dancers

The cruelest thing in the world to a Fringe show occurs when no one shows up—or worse, one viewer shows up and you still have to do a show. So this was only the second cruelest thing to occur: two of us
showed up. I’ve seen hundreds of shows in my life and I’ve yet to witness such an empty audience. Now it’s awkward for performers and viewers, especially when it’s supposed to be interactive and there’s a sing-along.

Oh boy.

I hoped heavily that this would be an outstanding show, prompting me to write an outstanding review, to help plop some butts in the seats.

That didn’t happen.

Weslowski describes this presentation as the fusion of a clown with a poet. The verses sounded poetic and the antics were clowny, but that’s as much as I got. The paper-love metaphor permeated the show but it was a little too much. No, it was A LOT too much. It was so over-the-top too much that it borderlined creepy (not in the good way). The only way it could have been worse is if he re-enacts the scene in a clown outfit.

If this was a full house, the “cheap trick” might have got the crowd rolling, but given time to think about it, I failed to understand how it blended in with the show.

I hate writing bad reviews, and when I have to, I want to be as constructive as I can. The best I can say here is to scrap the concept and start fresh. The basement scene showed glimpses of potential, darkening the mood and engaging suspense. The rest, I’m sorry to say, is a write-off.

Ray Yuen