What I liked
This is a hysterical show, you will be roaring in laughter at Jill’s perfectly executed and yet still freshly reactive jokes and scenarios. The play also has a heart, a big one, what’s comedy without heart, right? Often times it’s so easy to be lost in laughter, but not for this production. We sympathize with Jill’s character, in both the painful and stressful moments, it’s what gets the bigger laughs because we are able to connect with, and care about, Jill. There’s some truly wonderful moments of surprising vunerabilty of wanting/needing to not be alone (especially during the apocalypse) and of pushing yourself to your limit— and further.
Jill Young has written an incredible play, which would make any actor worry about undertaking a behemoth of a story, but Jill is just as good a performer as they are a writer. (And they are a fucking phenomenal performer, trust me, I saw the show.) The Audience is in great hands for this wild ride.
What I didn't like
The shows…
looks at notes
wait…
looking again at notes, but with glasses on
… only 5 performances!
Check’s laptop for confirmation
AND THE RUNS SOLD OUT AND THE FRINGE HAS NEARLY WRAPPED???
holding back tears
This show needs an extension.
My overall impression
God I love a pre-show, the action is instant. Jill is in full panic and it’s wonderful to see as soon as you come into the theatre, establishing the tone and sucking you into the world Jill Young, Calliope Weisman, and company have so deliberately crafted.
The space’s small arrangement allows for some truly wonderfully intimate moments which can heighten the laughs or increase the intensity of the drama of the moment. The set is wonderfully made with such attention to detail of an elementary school production. The little stars should be proud of the elbow grease they put into making those set pieces.
It’s impressive just how large Jill and Calliope have made the space feel in the flow and blocking of the piece. All at once we can be nervously sweating as we see a school production crumble before our eyes in a terrifyingly small space, and in an instant, the space is as expansive as Jill’s own mind.