Capital Fringe: The Road to High Street
Another highlight of this year’s Capital Fringe Festival is Andrew Potter’s critically acclaimed show, The Road to High Street: the true, tell-all tale of two unicycle-riding/fire-eating/guitar-playing/rubber chicken-juggling street performers in a one-man, musical, digital storytelling show. Trying saying that five times fast… or even just one time fast.
The multi-media show is complete with live and recorded music, projected video, photos, and animation. The show stands out not only for its story, which speaks of Potter’s real-life experiences as a world-traveling, busking street performer in the High Street Circus, but also for its use of digital technology. Sound systems, video projectors, screens, amps, and laptops are rare at fringe shows because of the restricted set-up and set-down times. However, with years of experience in the art of performance, Potter uses it all in his digital storytelling show, using the set-up as part of the performance. Despite his years of practice, how he “juggles” the wiring, adds to the show’s suspense.
Having been on stage–and on one occasion having built a good portion of the set–I’d prefer the simpler the better, so setting up his show every time with who-knows-what kind of facilities gets major props1 from me.
Some video teasers of the show can be found on the show’s website. One of the show’s highlights is when he describes living in a beer vat in San Francisco. The vat had no windows and his closest neighbors were punk rockers called the Vat Rats.
As I said before, I’m a little late in getting out info about the festival and the shows, so check out the program, make a plan and grab some tickets.
With a running time of about an hour, The Road to High Street will be hosted at The Warehouse Theater (645 New York Avenue, NW, Washington, DC) on July 10th at 7pm, July 12th at 3:30pm, July 15th at 8pm, July 17th at 10pm, and July 19th at 2:30pm.
1 No pun intended.†
† Ok, maybe a little one.
