Trygve Wakenshaw @ Assembly Roxy
Trygve Wakenshaw is back with an incredibly quiet but very impactful bang in his Fringe return, Silly Little Things
Trygve Wakenshaw is back at the Edinburgh Fringe with a massive, whopping, silent bang. It’s been seven years since the mime artist graced the stage (emphasis on ‘grace’), and boy have we missed him. Wakenshaw is solo this time – the baby from his last Fringe endeavour Trygve vs a Baby all grown up – and it’s appropriate seeing as Silly Little Things is an exploration of loneliness, friendship, love and loss. Not so silly at all then, really.
Well, this is Trygve Wakenshaw, so there’s a touch of the silly, and a tonne of the absurd – mostly in how the mime-slash-clown-slash-comic is able to move his body. It’s not often we’d choose to pay such mind to someone’s physicality, but it is arguably Wakenshaw’s greatest gift. He is wiry and strong, and many an ‘a-ha!’ moment comes from figuring out exactly which incredibly niche situation he is conjuring up using his body alone.
The props are minimal, as are the sound effects, but this is a rich visual experience – when things turn gross, or rabbits are left behind, or the audience are invited to participate in a completely invisible card trick, they groan and coo and respond on cue. It’s a wonderful audience experience, but it must be even more satisfying for Wakenshaw. He constructs his invisible world, and we enter willingly, mouths agape at the beauty of it all.
Part of the brilliance of this show, despite not seeming like a traditional hour of comedy, is how the structure is recognisable but the execution is entirely unique. The way Wakenshaw builds a pattern, constructing familiar jokes and providing familiar punchlines, before flipping the script entirely and flooring us with the unexpected is a tribute to not just his physical ability, but also to his excellent comedic nous. All the audience are left wanting for as Silly Little Things comes to a close is a promise (preferably spoken) that Wakenshaw won’t leave us hanging for seven more years.
Trygve Wakenshaw: Silly Little Things, Assembly Roxy (Upstairs), until 25 Aug, 8.15pm, £11.50-14