CASTING OFF
As this show does poetry/dialogue/one-liners/asides so well, it all feels like stylized chat and one of these which was particularly insightful; rattled off hundreds of anecdotes from mothers, grandmothers and great-grandmothers. “She didn’t believe in marriage. She still doesn’t.” Credit must be given to these three highly skilled acrobats who can actually speak: naturally, clearly and with buckets of humour. All acrobats can speak, but not many do; here the tongue is an important muscle and an integral part of the whole. In fact, there is no musical score, except for the spoken and sung word, some crying and screaming. Slip (the unmissable Debra Batton) is whip-smart and wryly wise with advice from forbears like “Drinking may bring out the party girl, but she won’t remember the party.” Knit (base/catcher Spenser Inwood) carries the woes of youth and existence – and Pearl (flyer Sharon Gruenert) is equally expressive in her blunt and shy way.
