The Last Show You’ll Ever See - End of the World As We Know It (With a Trombone)

One woman. One trombone. The apocalypse. Such is the premise of Sarah Liane Foster’s show. As with most Fringe shows the luck is in the draw and I had no idea what to expect when walking into the theatre. Foster is an endearing performer and her energy is appraisable. The character however I began to lose patience with quite quickly.

The characterization, voice and physicality never changed. There was so much information crammed into the script that the character was never allowed to breathe. Therefore we aren’t either. Which can sometimes be good but in this instance silence can be golden. When a character talks that much and that fast, if and when, the moment of silence arrives it becomes all the more powerful. There was quite a bit of laughter from certain audience members but I wasn’t sure if it was genuine hilarity or uncomfortable obligation. I grew tired of her seemingly endless attempts at getting the audience to clap. There is a point where the applause becomes meaningless.

I enjoyed the metaphor of the disassembled trombone; that is I enjoyed the metaphor until it was pointed out on stage verbally. Foster has a habit of saying what she means and then immediately acting it out with her body. It became an endless wheel of show and tell and it leaves the audience feeling talked down to. You don’t need to show us what you mean with everything you say. The beauty of clown is the making physical of speech. The instrument was treated with a human like quality and I enjoyed the relationship between the performer and the trombone. I feel as though the trombone could have been better utilized as a prop. The laying down of the trombone in its “coffin” was a lovely moment for example. The bits and the gags were quite repetitive and there wasn’t a lot of surprise.

I am still unsure of who this character is but honestly I am not sure that I need to know. She had an almost bird-like quality mixed in with child-like wonder. There was some great shadow play with the lights and this is when the costume, particularly the red hat, really kicked it up. The trombone concert aspect was fun and her song choices were humorous and we got to see the world, or the end of it, through this character's eyes... but mostly I was waiting for the end of the show.