Burnout Paradise was my first show of the Fringe this year! Off to a great start and probably emblematic of how the next few days will be in terms of organized frantic energy channeled into balancing all the needs of a human life amidst the crazy creativity at the Fringe festival.
Pony Cam & Parrot Ox is four smart young people on treadmills who attempt to (cumulatively) run more than 20 miles and complete a variety of tasks in the course of a 50 minute show. They did it, which was pretty amazing!
I loved that this was a collaborative effort and can see the delightful way the ensemble works together. They set out to do a hard thing, an ordeal if you will, and are doing it right in front of us which is inspirational. I expect they will never be the same after this run of shows and I really hope they are getting a good nap every day.
The show is funny and does a delightful job of involving the audience to help the performers out to complete tasks as varies as cook a three course meal, complete a grant application, and make a paperclip chain all while running on the treadmill. The grant writing, displayed on a big screen over the performers was my favorite part. It was done completely live and the audience was called upon to contribute at various points in time. People stepped up in impressive ways.
I had a lot of fun at this high energy show and recommend it to anyone who wants to participate in something both smart and silly that definitely has a message that resonates with our modern lives. Go be part of their team, it feels really good.
I also have to mention – this group of performers are Australians. I seem to especially enjoy the Aussie performers here at Fringe, something about their irreverence and intelligence presented without pretense is utterly charming. I love their sense of humor. Guess I should go visit.