Julia Masli @ Assembly Roxy
A clownish Od(d)yssey from Malcolm Hardee Award-winning Julia Masli
Julia Masli’s debut show is rather irresistible, and feels like an archetypal Fringe experience from the lo-fi aesthetic to its moments of joyful collectivity. She’s an accomplished clown whose work has garnered much critical praise, and this show does not disappoint. It’s a delightful confection of silliness but there are flashes of steel in its fun.
Masli is Estonian-born and the theme of immigration runs throughout: starting with the sad man who must leave his home and go to America, and ending with his daughter and her string of menial jobs. The sad man weeps copiously at having to leave his dog behind (waterworks courtesy of a hydration tube from a running backpack) and the daft drama of the subsequent journey to America is reminiscent of Buster Keaton’s action sequences, as Masli falls out of a moving train and clings on.
The riffs on the (quite literal) severing between man and dog are among the most delicious gags of the whole show, as an audience member tries manfully to assist in Masli’s impossible conundrum. Masli delights in putting people in such situations, and it’s both the sweetness of the audience’s willingness to help and the ridiculousness of the consequences that makes us laugh. It would be easy to underestimate the artistry of her persona, but it’s carefully calibrated: the sonorous voice, the quiet gurgles of pleasure; it’s both sweet and steely.
The momentum sags a little after the birth of our hero’s daughter, although her litany of bad jobs (model, then cleaner) implies a deeper critique of the exploitation of female immigrants. But she is ultimately triumphant, and finds her place in the world as the clown we see before us; her red nose a proud daub of menstrual blood.
Julia Masli: CHOOSH!, Assembly Roxy (Downstairs), until 28 Aug (not 17), 9.55pm, £11-13