Nione Meakin reviews the American clown currently causing a stir on the UK comedy circuit.
Never been menaced by a silent, bearded American in a showbiz warlock outfit? Well, what the hell are you waiting for? Doctor Brown is here to dance through your dreams (and nightmares) for the duration of the Fringe.
Those who’ve already borne witness to Phil Burgers’ unspeakably strange creation will know the journey they’re letting themselves in for when they step into the darkness of the Belly Button; for those who haven’t – good luck.
If you emerge from the experience without the creeping sensation that someone spiked your drink beforehand, you’ve clearly walked into the wrong show. Don’t be fooled by Brown’s apparent shyness as his brown eyes appear blinking from the gap between two tightly-pulled curtains because in less time than it takes to conduct a fist-fight with thin air, Brown will be clambering over the seats towards you and no one will be able to help you then, least of all the flustered woman who’s just had her handbag stolen.
His mime is by turns playful, sinister and downright baffling. Brown is far too busy to be trapped in a glass box – he has bulls to taunt. Those anthropomorphic domestic dramas won’t fix themselves and there’s a sunset to ride into on a musical motorbike. Watching Brown at play is like listening to a siren song – you’re drawn irresistibly towards him and it seems highly likely the outcome will be sex or death.
He has a slippery habit of flipping between the upturned palms of innocence and the clawed hands of threat and it’s an entirely mesmerising combination. Some of the show’s most brilliant moments come in the bewilderment of his hapless victims, who he will leave stranded under a spotlight, then hug to his chest like long-lost children.
But the majority of the joy comes from the new language he creates – it’s like dreaming in a language you didn’t know you could speak.As promised, this is one of the strangest hours you’ll spend at Edinburgh but also one of the most beautiful and uplifting. If you have the stomach for it, Doctor Brown has the heart.
Nione Meakin
Doctor Brown: Befrdfgth is at the Soho Theatre from Tues 30 Oct – Sat 10 Nov, 2012 at 9.30pm, and Mon 25 Mar – Sat 20 Apr 2013, at 8.30pm.
Doctor Brown Brown Brown Brown Brown and his Singing Tiger is at the Soho Theatre from Tues 30th Oct – Sat 3rd Nov, at 1:00pm.
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