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FRINGE REVIEW: Laughter and Pathos in Stories About Love, Death and a Rabbit

Monday Magazine's theatre critic Sheila Martindale reviews

We have all known someone who hops along on a stream-of-consciousness chatter, starting a topic and quickly jumping to another, never really completing a sentence or a thought.  Spinster librarian Samantha Mann, created and performed by Charles Adrian from London, England, is one such dotty character, and this show is a real hoot, as well as having elements of sadness and pathos.

There is no hint of the drag queen here – Adrian is a perfectly charming lady who is quickly approaching middle age, definitely losing her grip, and who can drive one crazy with her whimsical approach to life and to conversation.

It is what is NOT said that is so significant – those tiny gaps as this delightful character moves from one thing to another, leaving so much unsaid about this or that.  A psychoanalyst’s dream under the right conditions.

This is the kind of show whose poignance stays with you long after the last laugh has drifted away.

Still three chances to see this charming performance at St. Andrew’s Kirk Hall (680 Courtney Street) with your Fringe button firmly clipped to your shirt: August 29 at 5 p.m., September 2 at 10:45 p.m. and September 3 at 4 p.m.

Tickets are $11, $9 for students and seniors.