Fringe Binge #9: (in)decision

All Hamilton Fringe Festival reviews originally appeared on Raise the Hammer.

Playwright: Kyle Kimmerly, Tamlynn Bryson
Director: Kyle Kimmerly
Cast: Tamlynn Bryson
Stage Manager: Stephanie Taylor
Poster Design: Ariana Sauder
Warnings: Mature Content, Strong Language, Strobe Lights
Show Type: Comedy
Audience: General
Running Time: 60 minutes

(in)decision begins with a ticking clock and an incredibly energetic performer, Tamlynn Bryson, playing the role of Tess. Tess is a statistician in her twenties, and she's facing a big decision. Her boyfriend, Steve, a sensitive paleontologist has proposed, but there's a catch. He wants her to accompany him to Australia where he's moving for work.

In the past few years of attending the Hamilton Fringe Festival, I've attended at least a half dozen one-woman shows with a similar premise: Young woman in her twenties, or maybe early thirties, grappling with her identity, feeling unlucky in love and unsure of her place in the world. These shows usually involve a big decision: Should I get married? Should I travel the world? Should I have children? That said, there's something unique about (in)decision.

In (in)decision, the audience plays an important role, acting as the voices in Tess's brain. She calls this an "impromptu meeting inside my head." Through audience participation, including shows of hands and asking to weigh in, we're tasked with helping Tess make her life-altering decision.

Consumed by anxiety, Tess uses a pro-and-con chart and flips an oversized coin as she imagines her life with or without Steve. A tech-heavy show, it employs heavy use of sound effects and music, propelling the play's tense and anxious mood.

(in)decision is well-executed, funny, and thanks to Bryson's dynamic performance, it's filled to the brim with energy. This may have been the last play I checked out at the 2016 Fringe, but it quickly became one of my favourites.