DON’T BE CRUEL TO YOUR PUPPY…LEMME GIVE YOU A TWISTED TALE (Clayton Storyteller): 2017 Fringe Review

Dont-Be-Cruel-to-Your-Puppy-fringe-reviewListening to solo performer Clayton Storyteller spin cleverly wrought yarns in his vivid verse is an engaging treat. It is an exceptional experience, a tingling, almost auscultatory exercise which enabling entrance into another’s perceptual universe, to hear what is there. A modicum of concentration is required, a conscious decision to turn the brain on and tune in to the tales being told, and it is way worth the effort. Clayton’s ingenious use of language, lovely alliteration and literary nuance reshapes the ordinary, into the extraordinary. Fun stories, such as like ‘You’ll Flip Over Our Burgers’ in which the protagonist earns a “Bachelor of Spatula Art” and darkly humorous stories about being eaten ‘by an oxymoron’ (man-eating jumbo shrimp), a troll that invites folks to (become) dinner at his home under the bridge, regale and reward with their wit and word play.

Three verifiably far-out verse programs are offered at different times:

  • A) Westerns and ghost stories on September 5, 8, 11, 14, 17, 20, 23
  • B) Sci-fi, and maybe a surprise on 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21
  • C) Dark gritty, more violent stories, plus strange romances on Sept 7, 10, 13, 16, 19, 22

Each story program ends with his signature tale ‘A Safe Sex Story’ (PG), which is also available as a small chapbook, complete with colorful condom, or as he refers to it, a ‘personal protection device’ (PPD).

After Clayton’s last story was told, I took my rubber, and hit the road, remembering his parting words, about being careful – oh yes, I heard! Thanks ☺

[Philly Improv Theater, The Adrienne Theatre Second Stage, 2030 Sansom Street]; September 5-23, 2017; http://fringearts.com/event/dont-cruel-puppy-lemme-give-twisted-tale/

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