After two years of online programming, Edmonton’s festival of clown theatre and physical comedy is returning to in-person and audiences are thrilled! We were lucky enough to catch Scantily Glad Theatre’s Something in the Water.
S.E. Grummett in Something in the Water. Photo courtesy Play the Fool.
As you enter Something in the Water, you will be handed a plastic fork with no further explanation. No insight on what you should do with it, no instructions on how to employ this utensil. Nothing.
In a way, this opening moment perfectly sets the stage for what’s to come: an hour of theatre that is bizarre, delightful, and defies explanation. Through the use of a squid puppet, video projections, audience participation, and Barbie dolls, this show is a masterful engagement with modern day gender roles and what it means to be ‘normal.’ Generated from their own experience of being Trans and non-binary, S. E. Grommett had audiences howling with laughter as they seamlessly navigated the murky waters of gender identity. Equal parts honest and hilarious, Something in the Water is an unapologetic celebration of queerness and gender play and an absolutely wonderful addition to Play the Fool’s line-up.
(P.S. I won’t spoil the moment, but when the plastic fork’s use is finally revealed, it is absolutely and truly delightful!)
There’s one more chance to catch Something in the Water, on Sunday September 25 at 3:30pm! Plus, Play the Fool is offering tons of other shows tonight and tomorrow. Check out the full line-up here.
