Tampa Fringe 2025
Schizo Days
Alby Queer
Genre: Comedic, Dark Comedy, Feminist Theatre, LGBTQIA+, Neurodiverse, Solo Performance
Venue: The Lighthouse
Festival: Tampa Fringe
Low Down
Schizo Days makes schizophrenia funny. Audio and visual hallucinations have never been so appealing. Al Blackledge transform a mental health condition into thought-provoking and humorous theatre.
Review
Schizo Days asks what happens when you take schizoaffective disorder and queerness and mix them together into a theatrical experience? In the hands of a less daring and talented performer, probably absolute disaster. We can all imagine how tasteless that would be. That said, Schizo Days is as tasteful a piece of theatre as it gets. I had the pleasure of seeing the show’s world premiere at Tampa Fringe. And if this performance is any sign, Schizo Days has a long future ahead of itself on the fringe circuit.
Al Blackledge writes and stars in Schizo Days. The show is Blackledge recounting the strange and confounding ways their audio and visual hallucinations have impacted their life. From shadowy figures to severed limbs and talking cats, Blackledge takes us on a humorous journey through something so terrifying. Schizo Days is creative in its exploration of schizoaffective disorder and Blackledge is charming, humorous, relatable, and fun.
Schizo Days stands unique against other similar shows in how it engages its audience. Blackledge forces a few audience members to assume the role of the shadow figures in the audience. They make an actual sandwich for another. There is such creativity on display in Blackledge’s work. Blackledge understands the fine craft of showing, not telling. More so, they understand how to make their point quickly and effectively. The show runs at a brisk 30 minutes. Could it have been longer? Yes, and the audience would thank Blackledge for it. But as it stands, it is a smooth, tight 30 minutes. And as someone who has sat through too many bad hour-long fringe shows, I’d take an excellent and impeccably acted 30 minutes any day.
Schizo Days manages to be humorous while simulatiously dispelling stereotypes both queer and schizoaffective related. Few shows can boast that fine balance. Blackledge is a young talent who will find much success in this and future projects. The script is tight, the acting is professional and polished, and the show is just downright fun. This is solo fringe theatre done right.
