What I liked
As wonderful and engaging as this show was, I couldn’t help but feel that Rebecca was sending me a special signal, just for me. As difficult and saddening the world might feel at this moment, Rebecca’s message to me was that beauty, compassion, and kindness, are only a bus stop away. Maybe I have met someone that showed me a drop of kindness or shared a smile with me. Maybe I have been that for someone I didn’t know, but felt they were in need. That is the greater message I take away from Ms. Rebecca O’Brien
What I didn't like
A truly great Fringe show.
My overall impression
As far as solo shows goes, this one is one of the most inspiring and transformative ones I have seen in a long time. Rebecca O’Brien refers to herself as a “cancer thriver,” rather than a cancer survivor. She takes us on a journey of unexpected, but dearly needed encounters with strangers on buses” and her own healing process. Rebecca is a gem and as she unfolds her story before us, she lets us into her seemingly private pain and hope. Her charm and wit are sprinkled about and are used to soften the blow of reality of such an ordeal of dealing with cancer alone.
The audience was enraptured with the story as a whole. I hung on her every word and at times, when the story centred around her not having a partner or mate in which to share this ordeal with, Rebecca would pause for a moment as if she was reliving those moments alone. And we were the chosen lucky ones who were invited into her heart. Of course, the whole point of this story were the people on the bus that Rebecca encountered, as if the universe had populated her route with kind souls specifically for the purposes of helping Rebecca cope. And cope she did and continues t do so.
