Orlando Fringe 2025
Winning:Winning
Sweet Action Theatre Company
Genre: Clown, Comedy, Mime, Slapstick Comedy, Solo Performance, Solo Show
Venue: 10Ten Brewing
Festival: Orlando Fringe
Low Down
In this absurd, near-silent, and silly clown show, Gordon Neill struts out in a doggy cone, wrestling singlet, and a PowerPoint at the ready to explore what it means to be a winner. Through delightfully absurd comedic bits, a far more profound message about human failure and success shines through. Neill has a “winning show” on his hands that truly understands what it means to win.
Review
Gordon Neill is a loser. Or at least, that is what robot motivational speaker Tony Robbins taunts at him and us as the show begins. Neill must discover what it means to be a winner. Clad in a doggy cone of shame and wrestling singlet, Neill pulls comedic bit after bit out of his lycra. Through these dumb bits, Tony Robbins assures Neill he will be a winner. If that doesn’t grab your attention and tickle your funny bone, you and I have very different tastes in comedy.
Winning: Winning, like most clown shows of this style, is a pastiche of different comedic scenes and bits that explore the themes of winning. Each part individually is absurd. Neill invites the audience onstage to be interviewed, complete with audience applause signs. He plays an Otamatone. He does a card magic trick with mixed results. All of the parts are smart, silly, fast-paced, and downright stupid – and all without a word spoken from Neill. Neill doesn’t need words to get the audience on his side. Like a grumpier, Canadian, and stranger Mr. Bean, Neill exudes stage presence and control of the evening. Of course, the work would not amount to much if it were just Neill being an idiot on stage for an hour. Considering Winning: Winning is an AWARD-WINNING clown show, it should come as no surprise that there’s more happening here than meets the eye.
A shift comes towards the end of the show when Neill finally speaks directly to the audience. Without trying to spoil too much, Winning: Winning is a work about sobriety. It is about Neill’s struggles to be sober, to reaffirm his self-worth, and find value and joy in life again. For me, the different comedic bits that fronted the first half of the show were an attempt to appeal to the audience and others. Each bit reflected a different desire Neill has or something he wish he could be good at. The earlier journey is looking for validation from an external audience. The second half is finding appreciation from within, grateful for the unique failings and successes that make Neill human. That human reveal, personal and heartfelt, transforms Winning:Winning from just a silly evening to profoundly beautiful theatre. When Neill finally uses his voice, something he once lost in his own shame and failures, it is triumphant.
Remember when I said Neill gets the audience on his side? Let me clarify: the audience, at least at my performance, became the most supportive crowd I’ve seen during Orlando Fringe. An ending piano scene, a scene almost chilling in how well it speaks to human empathy, is incredible to watch as the audience cheers on and encourages Neill through every note. Winning:Winning is a reminder, that despite our failures, we are all human, infallible and imperfect. Our triumph over failure is what makes us a winner. If you do not understand, then you my friend, are no winner. Sure, lycra and doggy cones are an unusual way to make that message – but damn is it effective.
