Fake Wigs – And Dead Squirrels

I’m sure there are a thousand clichés in this piece which can be criticised – but it’s not by me, at least, not today. I found this simply enjoyable. If you’ve watched any film about a band on a road trip, you know what to expect here. They will fight, they will enhance each other (in that “being a little shit about it” sort of a way), you will laugh, and you will certainly cringe at some of the things these uninhibited musicians get up to.

This particular band is made up of three men and one woman; there is also an older male roadie involved. The setting is the 90s, and their genre is a sort of alternative / rock / punk / grunge affair. The majority of the play is straight theatre; you will hear a couple songs (I personally had question marks if the guitar was in tune in its first appearance), but predominantly you will learn about each of these… characters. I want to say fun or interesting or unique… but that doesn’t quite apply to all of them.

This is situational comedy, and at times it is very clever. The MASSIVE fringe crowd (at least 100 people) provided the hardworking cast with a lot of feedback, including raucous laughter and some “oh good god, no!” audible cringing as well. The cast were committed to their roles and did a great job; I fully believed each of the characterisations. I appreciated that each and every one of them brought something to the narrative, and that they were all needed to tell this story. The full-length songs didn’t add a lot (in my opinion) that couldn’t have been achieved with excerpts. 

The set was the most extensive I’ve yet seen at Fringe, which, combined with frequent scene changes, brings me to one real criticism. Here goes! It felt like nearly half the play was spent watching scene changes. The cast and crew did a great job doing it as quick as they could, and there was the odd moment that humour was added by inserting some action into that “blue light” time. The differences in settings were also great. BUT... This play advertises a 70min duration; I reckon the action (sans scene changes) would ring in at about a 45min run time.

For an enjoyable night for all the unashamedly clichéd reasons – go see “Fake Wigs”. It’s not life changing, but it is a good production, and you’ll walk away content.

Pencil in Sept 8, 11, 12, or 13 at The Cultch.