Pittsburgh Fringe 2026
On the Harmful Effects of Tobacco
Brian Byrne
Genre: Clown
Venue: Mr. Roboto Project
Festival: Pittsburgh Fringe
Low Down
Creator Brian Byrne trained extensively in clowning, physical theater, and improvisation, most recently at the Ecole Philippe Gaulier in France.
Review
One of the beautiful things about art, is that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I.e., experiencing art is entirely subjective to the person experiencing it. A perfect example of this truth is experiencing the production of On Harmful Effects of Tobacco, a show adapted from the Chekhov short play and performed by Brian Byrne at Mr. Roboto Project for the Pittsburgh Fringe Festival 2026.
The original Chekhov play published in 1886 is a monologue from a man who is attempting to impress and gain respect from strangers with a lecture on the dangers of smoking, imposed on him by his domineering wife. Instead of a lecture the play devolves into a pathetic confessional rambling to his audience.
It should be clearly noted that this Fringe production by Byrne is an adaptation of the play grounded mostly in clowning and not the original script – 2 things that were not clearly communicated within the show description which might leave audiences confused. Byrne enters the stage with a crumpled blazer, dingy top hat, and gray balding wig signifying his character is perhaps in his 60’s (Byrne appears to be in his early 20’s), and spends the next half hour wrestling with the table, the water bottle, his pocket watch, his hat, his wig, and even his lines, with the promise of a lecture that never came. Byrne also broadcasted his comedic bits, rather than selling them as accidents that truly surprised him – false surprise at the passage of time when he looked at his watch, bumping into a wall he clearly knew was there, getting his hat and even his wig to fall off. Then Byrne needed a line from his stage manager and when she replied, “I’m a miserable man,” from the back of the room, all bravado or pretense fell out of Byrne’s face and physicality as he told the audience, “I am a miserable man.” Whether that was an intentional break of the 4th wall or whether he actually forgot his lines… the audience was laughing as the character on stage at once became endearing.
Byrne never, at a single turn, gave the audience what is expected from a typical play: Plot? No. Lecture? No. Comedic bits that read as sincere? No. Lines memorized? No. It was pure absurdity, Andy Kaufman a la Jim Carrey with a dash of Danny Kay.
This play serves as a reminder that boundary pushing art is polarizing. On the Harmful Effect of Tobacco will be a memorable experience for anyone who attends. Byrne is a talented clown who took a creative approach and inspired adaptation to a modern classic play.
