Walking into ASKING FOR IT, one senses the smell of freshly poured beer, the charm of a nighttime comedy club, and a calming comfortable environment. One might expect a comfortable fourth-wall-breaking stand up comedy routine. But the audience learns the life lesson; “ask and you shall receive.” Adrienne Truscott’s wonderfully elaborate and complicated one-hour performance is a confounding “comedy show” with rape jokes, nudity, and heavy doses of reality.
The show begins with a comedy rookie (Truscott, who also wrote and directed) running through the house naked from the waist down. At first the audience is quite uncomfortable with this informality, but we come to forget about it and pay close attention to the comic’s performance rather than her costuming, until of course, she reminds us that her genitals are exposed. The comic then begins a routine that looks quite rehearsed, putting the audience on edge already because most pros tend to make their “shows” conversational. One gets the sense that this “comic” is not very good at what she does. The punch lines get worse and worse as the evening goes on, making the audience groan more often than laugh. The comic often refers to blowing a “rape whistle” on stage if anyone in the audience feels uncomfortable. By her final jokes, not a single laugh is heard in the house.
Truscott’s performance is excellent. Her act is so believable I almost find myself questioning whether or not this was a real comedy routine. The design of the show (by Allen Radway, with lights by Andrew Cowles) adds to the authenticity of the work, as do special lighting effects, such as projections of Truscott’s body.
Truscott’s title expresses it best: she asks the audience to open their eyes and listen. For the whole performance, they do just that. [The Skybox at The Adrienne Theatre, 2030 Sansom Street] October 24-November 16, 2014; simpaticotheatre.org.
Great review, it appears the reviewer went with an opened mind, good thing he didn’t walk out before he realized what was going on. Kudos to him for waiting, listening and understanding that the show was about a “slap of reality”!
Although I admired the message she was trying to get across and the bravery of the nude performance, I thought the actual show was dull and not very well-written. She could benefit from having a legitimate playwright and/or comedic writer help her with the actual dialogue. It came off as very raw and “fringe-y” but I think the piece, now that it’s making the toubds, could be better and deserves better.
It also seemed like a huge stretch for the company (Simpatico) presenting it. I got the impression they were riding the wave of her publicity instead of presenting an original show themselves. The audience was rather small, unlike we she presented it at this year’s FringeArts, so u think everyone in this area who wanted to see it already has. They should commission her to write a new play for them that serves their mission. She clearly has a lot to say. I’d like to see her stance on other womens’ issues.