Destroy PowerPoint

For years, Gaffney has been trying to turn the mundane into the interesting through ‘sawn off’ short stories, and now his obsession with PowerPoint has tipped him into the world of the Fringe.

Telling a series of short stories, each 5-10 minutes long, complete with slideshow presentation, with the subject matters revolving around the workplace, working relationship and of course, PowerPoint itself. From the area in Woking which trains its residents to resist unnecessary thoughts, to George, who works alone in his shed and must deliver and receive his own health and safety presentation, the stories are glimpses into the sweet, creative world of Gaffney, but sadly fail to deliver as a show.

Whilst the stories are amusing, there are few laugh-out-loud momentts. The presentations prove a deft hand at PowerPoint, there’s a reason they’re not a medium for theatre – its simply too mundane. One cannot escape the feeling that it’s just another day in the office and it simply falls flat as a stand alone show. Gaffney does well narrating the stories, but it just doesn’t work as theatre, and with something like this it seems maybe a more charismatic touch is in order.

This is a valiant attempt to try something new, but sadly missing the mark – it’s sweet, endearing, cute even, but sadly, not very funny or particularly poignant.