Squidboy, Underbelly Bristo Square

By Amy Stow

Squidboy is comedic genius brought once again to the fringe by Trygve Wakenshaw, after a sell-out hit at last year’s fringe. New Zealander Wakenshaw, who is also performing his one-man-show Kraken at the Underbelly, is a physical comedian that specialises in mime (but not as you know it) and creating imaginary friends (animals as well as humans) and, often with little dialogue, sets about engaging in his favourite activities – predominantly eating, dancing, and stabbing things. It is curiously difficult to describe the kind of humour that Wakenshaw brings, and how exactly he sparks great guffaws amongst his audience.

In Squidboy, Wakenshaw uses his body, amazing facial expressions and some ridiculous costumes to demonstrate that he may in fact be a squid, posing as a fisherman – or vice versa (he is not quite sure). The fisherman narrates on occasion, although there isn’t a plot exactly, and Squidboy goons about on stage, talking to the audience, the birds, a looney shopkeeper and Susan, the love of his life.

Surreal, and almost absurdist in its execution, Wakenshaw has a rare talent of making an audience actually see the characters and images he is painting before their eyes. Miming the sniffing a cow’s butt prompts most people to wail and cover their eyes, nauseous in the reality of it all. There is a laugh-a-minute, and many I-can’t-believe-it faces from the audience, as Wakenshaw adeptly and grotesquely completes his waltz of a performance. Some dips in the action are inevitable, and some scenes are particularly adult in nature, so I wouldn’t say Squidboy was family-friendly in nature, and may not be suitable for all. However, I think the only way to understand how amazingly nutty this show is, is to go and see it for yourself – and then book a ticket to see Kraken.

★★★★★

Squidboy (@trygve123)

Underbelly Bristo Square

15:25 (1 hour)

Until August 25th

@PostScriptJour

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