Orlando Fringe 2025
1-MAN NO-SHOW
ZeekTech Productions
Genre: Absurd Theatre, Clown, Comedic, Comedy, Experimental, Solo Performance, Surrealism
Venue: Yellow Venue
Festival: Orlando Fringe
Low Down
(High) art
(Low) art
Review
The ending of flashdance.
Is this high art?
Ten feet above the stage the Mona Lisa towers above.
Is this high art? Is it low art if it’s on the ground?
A rotten banana pulled out of a boot.
High… art…? Maybe? Who’s to say? Whatever is going on, Isaac Kessler’s 1-MAN NO-SHOW exists beyond the realms of mere descriptors of high or low art and enters into the expansive absurdity of art itself. 1-MAN NO-SHOW is a phenomenal companion piece to Poems for God at Orlando Fringe. (The Canadian clowns are all helping one another in bringing each other’s shows to Orlando, including Winning-Winning and Joshua’s Witnesses.) Whereas Poems for God explored the futility of theatrical arts, 1-MAN NO-SHOW tears apart the pretentiousness of the theatre.
What is art if not a banana peeled away? Is art the emotions which one elicits or a sign of technical craft? What is the purpose of theatre? All of these questions are raised in increasingly stupid ways by Kessler in a tight hour of hilarious bit after bit. A red neon timer counts to zero in an ode to theatrical tension. 1-MAN NO-SHOW is a bomb explosion in slow motion. By the end of this hour, the theatre itself will be damned.
Kessler is an experienced improv artist who gleefully plays with his audience. Few individuals can teach an entire choreography with no words to two unlucky audience members dragged on stage. Audience members are given various props before the show which come up at strange and unexpected moments. The princess Barbie doll scene is a stand-out moment wherein Kessler uses his pants to puppet a Barbie doll princess and trick an audience member into slow dancing with them.
Kessler’s humor is not for everyone. You may be unfortunate enough like me to end up with rotten banana on you. The entire experience is surreal, bizarre, confusing, and immature. And yet, perhaps that’s Kessler’s greatest trick of all. His performance mocks the very nature of theatre and the cultural capital associated with attending it. Maybe this is a fool on stage or a jester who speaketh what you dare not? Maybe it’s high art? Maybe he’s just an idiot clown whom I am overanalyzing? Maybe? Who’s to say? That is for you to decide. No matter what, you will leave with a huge, bewildered smile when that red neon timer hits zero.
