Jill's PLAF Diary for Friday, September 8

Performances: Crazy Gary's Mobile Disco (Inis Nua Theatre Group) (Future performances); House (Kate Watson-Wallace) (Future performances sold out).

I almost feel like I should have gotten a monthly SEPTA pass for the Festival. I have covered more ground in the last seven days than I normally do in a month. Fortunately, after last weekend's deluge, the weather has been pleasant enough that if I get an early start, I can walk. And if I don't, well, I suck it up and pay my $2 SEPTA fare. Maybe I should at least buy tokens though.

Crazy Gary's Mobile Disco
The Fringe guide didn't make it sound like fun. Citypaper didn't make it sound like fun. But still, I went into the Khyber thinking Crazy Gary's Mobile Disco was going to be fun. Instead, it was a two hour exploration of the darker side of life in a poor Welsh town: more Guy Ritchie (I know, he's British) than Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (I know, Australian). But just because something's not what you expect doesn't mean it can't be a powerful experience. The play is composed of three monologues by three characters whose lives eventually intersect in the most violent way possible. There's this wonderful moment of clarity halfway through the third monologue where suddenly, it all makes sense. And you almost wish it didn't, because as soon as you see this, you know how it's going to end. The script isn't without its share of humor, but the jokes all have dark-tinged edges. All three of the cast's actors (Jared Delaney, Mike Dees, and Charlie DelMarcelle) turn in excellent performances—an especially hard thing to ask of actors when they're performing alone on stage, and with thick Welsh accents to boot. I was hoping to see a comedy, but I don't mind that Crazy Gary's Mobile Disco wasn't. After all, Inis Nua was formed to perform theatre of the British Isles. How many happy Welsh/Irish/Scottish plays can you think of, anyway?
Festival rating: Very good.

House
I've become a huge Kate Watson-Wallace fan since July, when I saw "Living Rooms" (which was excerpted from, or re-staged for, House), so I was really looking forward to seeing her Live Arts show. Also, I was curious to see whether House was staged, as I'd suspected, in a house I used to party in. (It wasn't; I used to go to parties next door.) House is one of those "limited capacity" Fringe shows, and for good reason: any more people than the twelve or so seeing the performance with me, and nobody would have seen anything. That's both the benefit and the downfall of having a dance performance in a West Philly row home. The small audience size made the performance seem more intimate. I felt voyeuristic, watching Wallace's choreography, like I was seeing something I shouldn't be seeing. Each piece was so personal, so affected; it was choreography, but it was real. Even when people were literally dancing on the ceiling, it was familiar. Personally, I think the piece could have been longer, using more space (they didn't use the third floor or basement), but it never ceased to be beautiful or powerful, or most of all, distinctively human.
Festival Rating: Very Good