The Americans

It is perhaps unsurprising, following eight years of the Bush administration, that so little political satire is on offer from American comics at this year’s Fringe. After all, how many different ways are there to call one man stupid? But with election campaigns finally providing a rich new source of material (“Yes We Can!”, anyone?) the stage seems set for a major resurgence. Sadly Jeff Kreisler’s The Americans will play no part in it.

The Americans in question are a family of roughly drawn caricatures comprising Sam American, his wife Libby (short for Liberty), and their daughter Mary. Mary is short for America, and she has a boyfriend called Ira Raq. Do you see what they’ve done there?

This lame punning constitutes the majority of what passes for satire in Kreisler’s show. Mary’s expensive pet dog, for example, is reclassified as an “enemy combatant” in the War on Debt, and sent to Basementanamo. It’s a shame, because the chaotic script wastes a pair of strong performances from Kreisler, as the Uncle Sam figure, and Anne Teutschel as his daughter.

But for the most part, Kreisler’s brand of satire is as subtle as a sledgehammer to the face, and only slightly more enjoyable. There are a handful of smart observations about our thirst for technology, and an excellent send-up of Obamania, but unfortunately most of this more subtle material goes straight over the heads of an audience who by now appear beaten into submission. Yes we can? No, you can’t.