Chimpskin

Riveting from start to finish. A lot of people do movement-y thetare and all you see is this attempt to be sort of cool and abstract. THIS is not that. This is story-telling that goes beyond words. Every gesture, utterance, layered use of prop, music piece and shift in character enriches the story and makes it all the more sweet and savage and utterly engrossing. I just LOVED it. Do yourself a favor and get yourself into some chimpskin. ... full review

Go see it. Very interesting and enjoyable.... full review

CHIMPSKIN is a beautiful and haunting vision of a chimp learning what it is to be human and then cast back into nature. There is much beauty and sadness in this piece.... full review

This show was wonderfully entertaining. The story was clear and beautiful, due mainly to the strength in the material being based on a true story. Director Ben managed to transport his audience to another time and place with the aid of a long rope and a record player. Everything I would expect to see at the Fringe.... full review

Chimpskin takes the concept of physical theatre and stretches it into a fully realized, emotional story. The physicality of the actors is beautiful, as is their versatility when switching characters. Damla Coskun's embodiment of the chimp is spot on, from the way she carries herself to what she does with her facial reactions. The piece moves smoothly and doesn't drag at all over the hour run time. Nathan Nonhof provides fascinating, eerie didgeridoo accompaniment which adds a much more in the moment feel. At the same time, the use of a record player utilizes recorded music that all flows with the piece. One of the most unique shows at Fringe this year, and one of my favorites.... full review

Chimpskin is a story built with bravery from the ground up and told with a passion that shakes the viewer's core. Based in truth, this play follows a family that has a special dynamic because one member lacks humanity. It has a true marriage of language and action as there is no wasted breath, or sound. The actor's movements share equal importance with the words, while the words are only there to support what we see. A bold union of sight and sound shaped to shake the viewer's heart into a mindset that convicts is to aim higher with our own humanity. Excellence. See this show.... full review

This is an absolute must see. (For starters: LIVE DIDGERIDOO! That should be enough.) I came across this show because it randomly fit in my viewing schedule and am beyond delighted that I chanced it. This show takes an already fascinating/disturbing real life story and transforms it into a thought-provoking, transfixing work of theater. The ensemble's strong physical acting, the excellent direction, elegantly simple stage design and haunting musical accompaniment created a total work of art that completely transports the audience in a truly theatrical experience. I cannot recommend this enough: this is what you hope to see when you go into a theater, something that really uses theatricality, not something that pretends to be television. This... full review

I came in with no expectations and came out so incredibly inspired. The acting was outstanding as well as the directing. Also incredible writing, I cried through the whole experience. I loved it! ... full review

It was not great... i had a HUGE problem with the sign language... that was not real sign language. Now i can suspend my disbelief and accept the premise that perhaps they devised their own unique language...or using a different form of sign however this was not explicitly stated in the script, nor was it easy to logically come to this assumption based on the information given (especially knowing about sign language and how it has been used with primates and gorillas) So it was hard to watch them using made up fake sign language on stage. Its a little offensive, and could have been easliy resolved with like 20 Minutes of research. Unfortunately i pretty much was turned off and tuned out after the initial realization of the fake sign. ... full review

The Chimpskin performance really seemed to be a refreshing experiment in theater, its sense of exploration really suits the festival well. It told the story well with a fresh voice. I would greatly recommend it. ... full review