Fringe Festival "The Event" review by ChaimEliyahu

Paging Bertolt Brecht...
Rating: 5

The Event
KC Fringe Festival

"The Event" is the most completely archetypal Brechtian theater I've ever encountered.  Brecht posited that the theater should not cause us to become unconscious of its own illusory nature, lest we lose our critical awareness.  Bob Paisley has taken this all the way out, and the experience is far-out indeed.

Woops! A phrase from the past: he has something to say about that, too.  But I'm getting ahead of myself, because I — in my role in "The Event" — am a moron.  That is, I have the temerity to write and post my opinions — pardon me, my judgment — of this and other theatrical experiences, thus influencing who might decide to attend "The Event." (And I promise to share my judgement at the end.)  Actually, Bob said I *might* be a moron, and I must say I know what he means. (For instance, I've read interesting artistic work in this town written off as "uneven," like some ill-kept Midwestern lawn. What does that even mean, when one's deciding whether or not something's worth experiencing?)

But I digress, because unlike Bob — and as he points out later in the show — I have no script.  The distance between art and life winds up being a major theme of this piece, which is surprising.  This is because "The Event" is so much about itself — and events as a class — that it might remain purely self-referential.  But as we've all been told, all the world's a stage, and by the end of our 70 minutes together (this is a little longer than an hour) Paisley takes us back to the world in a way that resonates deeply with the audience. He's is gracious in suggesting that we in his audience are good actors in a much less well-made play than "The Event." (And here I must thank him for giving us the benefit of the doubt.)

It may be hard to believe, but as in "The Event" itself, it's very funny to have someone point out all the roles, relationships, mechanics, and ironies of the theatrical experience.  You'l just have to experience it yourself.

I won't say more than that my judgment is that this simple yet well-crafted play is the most substantively interesting I've seen so far at the Fringe — and it was my eleventh!  (And one more since.) Despite what he tells us toward the end of "The Event," I think Bob is quite trustworthy:  don't miss him!  He's back at the MET on Friday at 9, Saturday at 6, and Sunday at 2.

read the review at KC Stage