Review: THE FOOL'S GUIDE ... TO LIVING AND DYING ... at Drama Factory

Andrew Buckland's signature is a densely peopled, intricately plotted story told through the performer(s)’s body and voice. THE FOOL'S GUIDE …TO LIVING AND DYING…, specially commissioned for the Klein Karoo Nasionale Kunstefees, is no exception. The people in this story include a concerned dad, a social media influencer, a whole board of tech bro Chads and a lifestyle podcaster and her teacup Yorkie. The intricate plot involves our overexplained, caption-saturated tech world, yet it is told with zero technological assistance and absolutely no hand-holding of the audience whatsoever.

What makes Buckland's physicality so remarkable is his ability to create fully realised characters that are recognisable archetypes but with enough individuality that they never harden into stereotypes. He subtly furnishes each with a distinct "tell" (a voice, a tic, a stance, a mannerism), so that as the story races along, you never lose track of who you're watching. Similarly, the tech-centric story is told with no theatrical tech beyond lighting to suggest (but not explicitly announce) various setting changes. This exquisite contrast between the subject and the method is itself a statement, and a very funny one at that.

Much of the comedy is delivered this way: with a confidence that trusts the audience to keep up. Jokes and references are tossed out with no concern for whether they landed. That's your own lookout as the audience. One that stuck with me for reasons vaguely connected to my juvenile sense of humour was a beautifully executed spoonerism ("neck turds" in place of "tech nerds"). It was said once, immediately self-corrected, and gone. If you caught it, you were rewarded. If not, the story didn't wait. This is a comic philosophy as much as a performance style, and it produces some of the most genuinely hilarious moments in the show.

The play also has a structural device, which I won’t spoil, that cleverly reframes everything you've watched and brings the whole to a satisfying and unexpectedly moving conclusion. Buckland has said he is addicted to the sound of people laughing, and his entire body of work since the 80s has argued (hell, proven, as far as I’m concerned) that comedy is an affecting and effective art form. THE FOOL'S GUIDE makes that case again, with a nuanced knack.

There are three shows this weekend - be sure to catch it before it ends.

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