In The Boudoir - A Light-Hearted Romp

Summer Shapiro enters the stage clothed in a white southern belle dress. With the raise of an eyebrow and an intense stare she begins to set the stage for what looks like to be a dinner date. It is immediately clear there is no fourth wall. She can see us and we can see her. No sooner is the romantic evening assembled; it comes crashing down around her, literally and figuratively. She then spends the rest of the show, sometimes successfully and sometimes in vain, trying to pick up the pieces.

Entering the Performance Works venue I really didn’t know what to expect. I grew tiresome at first of her repeated requests for the audience to clap after every set piece was put out and the thought did cross my mind of, “I sincerely hope this isn’t it for the rest of the hour.” I was happily wrong. The performance delivered many joyful and unexpected moments. There was one surprise in particular, that I won’t give away here, that was a genuine gift to the audience in regards to a set piece appearing on stage seemingly out of nowhere. The seating in the centre of the room was set up in a lounge style, with around four chairs to a table. At the table next to me was a family with three young children. Shapiro had the oldest child hooked and giggling with the flick of an eyebrow and a red balloon.  The child was on board and engaged the whole way through. That is not easy to do my friends. 

The show is a perfect Fringe show with simplistic props, sets, and costuming. The white dress works well and becomes a character itself at times by providing comic foil. The heel of her dress repeatedly gets stuck in the crinoline.  Her lipstick falls inside the dress leading to a struggle to get it out. Whether these were planned gags or not it didn’t really matter. They worked.

Shapiro is a committed performer who stays present in the moment and reacts to what comes her way. The energy of the character she created was so endearing that the audience members she interacted with, and brought onto the stage with her, let her get away with almost anything. When I say anything I mean it.  She fed an audience member spaghetti Lady and the Tramp style. This spaghetti had been thrown on the floor, had been chewed on by her and picked up with her hands. There was one audience member that she zoned in on that would not get up on account of an injured knee. Such is the nature of interactive theatre. I was disappointed when she broke character to explain that he was injured and that she needed someone else. The character development in that way could be stronger. Yes the performer herself is loveable, but I want to get to know the character. Who is this clown? Does she have a name? She went from just making sounds to full words and sentences, to back to just sounds, then to quite a bit of silence. 

Her physicality was good but left me wanting more. There was a small and simple movement with her shoulder that she used to say, “Thank you,” for instance that was simple and effective. When those clear character choices were made and committed to the character sparkled. Due to the nature of the interactivity with audience members this show changes every time it plays, which makes finding those consistent character traits and quirks even more important.

I found myself waiting for her to become completely fearless. I am not sure the title of the show really encompasses the journey, as the journey seems to be more about the general dating life of this clown than it does the bedroom exploits specifically. The performer and the technicians have a great relationship that works well. It is clear they are in tune with each other and have tons of fun interacting. There were times she would cue them with an expression and other times they would cue her by changing the spotlight on stage. She then had to follow the light. Those were great comic moments. The running time clocked in at under an hour, which was just right. The ending had the audience cheering her on and cheering for more.

If you are looking for a light hearted romp and are a fan of clown and sketch comedy this show is worth seeing. Kudos to Shapiro and I look forward to seeing what she comes up with in the future.