Fringe review: Reuben Solo – Someone In This Crowd Will Betray Me [Revenge Edition]
A show that blurs the line between improv and design, delivering anarchic, razor-sharp crowd work. ★★★★
Reuben Solo has a sold-out show, a very revealing piece of paper, an apparent mission, a complicated relationship with his sound tech and, apparently, a whole show planned. Yet, after a solid hour of mostly crowd-work, it’s impossible to judge if that plan was ‘just do crowd work’ all along, or if there’s a whole show hiding in the corner that we don’t get to see.
And actually, it doesn’t even matter. Solo’s audience know him well and is ever willing to play along, plus Solo is funny, in a way that an abstract/out-there/slightly smart-arsed comedian of his ilk rarely manages to be. So either way, roll with it.
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This is a masterclass in audience manipulation and, thanks to that all-important piece of paper and a 40-foot mic wire, no-one is safe (don’t bother avoiding the front row, it won’t help. Plus, he’s sold out so someone’s got to sit there). Special mention to Casey Filips, Solo’s sound tech, who is totally on the ball and makes the whole thing feel more like a double-act than a solo spot. Together, they make it feel anarchic, especially when the audience goes for broke: people are phoned, call-backs are called, drinks are bought. If this sounds like your idea of hell, meh: nothing written here will persuade you to give him a go. But if you’re already a fan, or just intrigued enough to give it a shot, then sell your granny for a ticket.
Reuben Solo – Someone In This Crowd Will Betray Me [Revenge Edition] is playing at The Howling Owl from March 3 – 8
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