Jill's PLAF Diary for Wednesday, September 12

Performance: Trad (Inis Nua Theatre Company) (Future PLAF Showtimes; Additional Showtimes)

I realized today that I've gotten to the point at which I don't know what I'm seeing anymore. I show up at the theatre I'm supposed to be at, ticket in hand, and try my damnedest to remember what the Festival guide said about the show I'm seeing: Comedy? Drama? Dance? Musical? Of course, by that point, it doesn't matter. I just have to sit back and enjoy the ride. (Or not enjoy it, sometimes – but that's a risk you take.)

Trad
Last year's production by Inis Nua, Crazy Gary's Mobile Disco, was outstanding. Dark and disturbing. But outstanding. So when I saw that the company had upgraded from Fringe to Live Arts status, I made sure to include this year's production, Trad, in my schedule. (It helped that Inis Nua chose a comedy this year – I don't think I could've taken two years in a row of angry, violent Welshmen.)

Trad is an Irish comedy with all the trappings of the genre: a little ridiculous, a little dark, and a little vulgar. The accents are executed impeccably (none of the performers are Irish) and the humor is appropriately over-the-top and full of quick-fire punchlines that you'll miss completely if the person beside you so much as coughs. At eighty minutes long, the play progresses at a good clip and ends almost before you realize it. In fact, when the lights went down the last time, it took a few minutes for the audience to start applauding, because nobody else thought the show could possibly be over yet, either. That could be a flaw of the show—the ending doesn't mesh completely with the rest of the show—but I think it could also be a strength: it leaves you wanting more. I know I certainly did.