My overall impression
And the winner of the/my best show of the fringe goes to THE WAKE. I have seen over a dozen shows at this years fringe and I know there is another 230 to see but I’m fairly damn confident that nothing can top this. WOW, just WOW. Ben Moroski is one hell of a talent. The writing is so clean, clear, ambitious and clever. So damn clever. At times I wanted to scream BRAVO at the simplest of writing choices. What I found the most intriguing about this piece is how so many of the patrons found the play so comedic. I can only speak about myself and my partner of whom I watched the show with. Yes, it was funny. Yes, there were good jokes. But when it became clear the man I was watching was a psychopath, it was nothing but incredibly dark, unsettling and eery. I understand people laugh at being uncomfortable, It’s a natural reaction for many. But to me this play was as dark and as unsettling as the novel (not the movie) American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis. THE WAKE is the better version of Ellis’ novel. Let me make this clear, I’m not saying finding it funny is wrong. If anything it’s testimony to the script that people have different reactions to this. The ending made me want to wrestle ‘Pete Harrisburg’ down and call the cops, It was not a ‘punch line’ for me. It was a dark realization that we were truly dealing with a mad man. I cannot stop thinking about this play. I would also like to congratulate the Director Nick Massouh on his subtle and amazing choices. Moroski deserves all the credit that comes his way but without Massouh’s compelling direction and attention to detail and attention to intention the show wouldn’t be what it is. I really hope to see this show go on to great things and I will be watching this team of Moroski and Massouh for years to come.
