Theatre / Deanna Fleysher
Review: Butt Kapinski, Wardrobe Theatre
After years of touring the character in her extraordinary one-woman comedy show, performer Deanna Fleysher is effortlessly familiar with her creation. To even call this show ‘one-woman’ is perhaps mislabelling it – this is a performance that defies both gender and the fourth wall, involving every person present in the room in the creation of its unique improvised content.
Butt Kapinski begins with a simple enough premise – the character is a seedy rhotacistic film-noir character in a trench coat, under a large overhanging lamp. Throughout the show this single light is used to maintain complete control over the audience’s focus. Sometimes it shines closely on Kapinski’s face as he reels off an ominous metaphor. At other times it is used to cast attention onto specific audience members as they must invent choices or responses to determine the trajectory of the murder mystery.
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It’s hard to pinpoint exactly how much Fleysher has prepared and how much is improvised after a single performance. There’s an excited, anything-could-happen atmosphere to every moment. Will a particularly interesting response pull the show down a route in which that interaction becomes significant? Is there really any difference between choices to bring in the press or call the police? The show does a fantastic job of concealing its own inner workings, precisely adapting to every imaginable possibility.
For those interested in physical comedy and in improvisation or clowning, this is an essential show. Fleysher’s credit as director and co-writer of Edinburgh Fringe favourite Red Bastard shines even more brightly in Butt Kapinski. It’s certainly not for the faint of heart, nor for those expecting to sit back and take no part in the action. But when the level of audience interaction is this terrific, and so much wonder is reaped from every participant, why would anyone want it any other way?
By the end of the show, there’s not been a coherent story or an attempt to bring deeper meaning to the events that occur. Instead, this is rich, communal spontaneous fun – a room brought together and enraptured by one of the country’s most impressive comic talents.
Butt Kapinski continues at the Wardrobe Theatre until Thursday, May 31. For more info and o book tickets, visit thewardrobetheatre.com/livetheatre/butt-kapinski
Top pic: Mihaela Bodlovic
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