"Befrdfgth" by Dr Brown

Photograph courtesy of:
 http://www.sohotheatre.com/whats-
on/doctor-brown-befrdfgth/

I wouldn't exactly call him a doctor, well possibly a doctor of comedy; Possibly!
The content of this performance was sexual, vulgar, painstakingly offensive...but I enjoyed every minute of it.
The act begins as soon as the audience enter and take their seats, with Dr Brown peeking from behind the stage curtains. From that moment right until the end I was thoroughly engaged. Various scenarios were acted out in mime, with occasional backing music and a lot of audience participation. The physicality of his movements were very surprising, it is definitely not what I expected when someone explained this as a mime performance. He clambers over the audience, multiple times, and runs up and down the stairs when changing from one character to another in the narratives. Playing every role in each scenario adds to the humour and suspense of each scenario as that time taken in-between leaves room to wonder what the reaction of the other character can be. The changing from one character to another is incredibly clear as a result of the almost slapstick facial expressions, this helps clarify the story and in turn helps the audience understand the scenario despite only one man playing all these different people/ creatures.
The audience is a character in itself. The audience's laughs, smirks, coughs play a part in the humour and are more dominant than other performances as the room is relatively quiet. Dr Brown pays attention to everything he hears,  picking up on if someone has a particular laugh or someone sneezes. His facial expressions in reaction to these noises are possibly the funniest part of the show, raising eyebrows and shaking his head. In one scenario the audience is encouraged to make the sound effects of the motorcycle ride he is acting out, it almost felt like it was a primary school lesson, and yet everyone seemed to be enjoying it. Towards the end of the show an audience member was dragged up and the scenarios, which we were already familiar with, reenacted using him to play the other characters. This use of autonomy and chance makes for an incredible audience reaction, especially when the participant challenges Dr Brown.

Phil Burgers, a.k.a Dr Brown accepting the Foster's Edinburgh
Comedy Award 2012.
Photograph courtesy of: http://i.huffpost.com/gen/745239/thumbs/o-
DOCTOR-BROWN-FOSTERS-570.jpg?4

The costume is really a secondary component visually, but the wizard like dress he wears is practical: free moving, loose, flexible and light. Throughout the performance he wears gloves, which at one point when he held his hands up in the light I noticed, were not matching colour or material. One was navy blue, one black, one silk the other not, one had holes and ladders the other in perfect condition. This lack of care could be deliberate or not, something that is hard to decipher.
Although it may seem like this performance is a sequence of narratives with no connection and no plan, it's most definitely a performance with a structure. We start seeing an eye from behind a curtain and despite being funny the entire way through there was definitely the build up to a climax. Follow by an ending which was slower and calmer. After which the audience applauded and Dr Brown disappeared behind the curtain, only to return a few minutes later nude except for a pair of speedos, when he once again clambered over the audience getting a little too close to comfort to certain 'lucky' members.
The bizarrity of the scenarios and the attention to detail, down to every eyebrow raise, make for an experience which is like no other I have ever seen; and one that I would no doubt love to see again.
Dr Brown has really tapped into the sort of humour which we enjoy in our everyday lives. At the beginning, due to the offensive and religious material, I thought, is there a political or social message here? Is he commenting on today's society? Soon after it becomes clear that Dr Brown is simply stressing the importance of frivolity. Making the audience remember that silliness is important and that we should take a step back and enjoy life a little more. A lesson that I was happy to be reminded of.