Maggot is plainly and simply one of those oddities the Fringe is so good at offering up. Confusing, bizarre, and thoroughly enjoyable, it’s a show to seek out in its short run at Raj House. The three performers, Elle Wootton, Angela Fouhy and Freya Finch, offer up a series of unusual characters in truly strange situations, with some characters recurring throughout the sketch series.
It’s a polished performance but the quick wit of the performers allows for unexpected events and audience responses to add to the show rather than interfere. I’m somewhat at a loss of how to describe the show as it sits apart quite separate from nearly anything else. Using enigmatic sketches and blurring the lines between scenes, it has something Monty Python like about it and something quite like British cult classic Absolutely Fabulous. Maggot is never derivative, though. It is, unashamedly, utterly, its own thing and all the better for it. It expertly plays to the three performers’ substantial talents.
The show is delightfully strange, confusing, and absurd. A thorough triumph of absurdist comedy like this is a rare treat. They kept the audience laughing from beginning to end with their unique blend of absurdist comedy.
Plenty of audience interaction ensures everything is kept fresh and unpredictable which seems the perfect state for a performance of this nature. The venue, the Board Room at Raj House, keeps the setting close and only aids in breaking down the barriers between performer and audience, between one sketch and the next, between the normal and the bizarre. This show takes the audience to a strange and wonderful place that is at times too weird to fully understand, but always enjoyable.
If you’re prepared to delight in the strange and let your expectations be frequently thwarted, this is the show for you.
Words by Liam McNally
4 stars.
Maggott is playing at RAJOPOLIS on March 18. Tickets available here.
Tulpa Magazine 