Bigfoot in Plain Sight is the latest from theatre company A Handful of Bugs. A thrilling twist on the classic one-man comedy combo of very big man very small stage, this is an even bigger man, indeed the biggest man! Bigfoot! I sat front row for this whirlwind, high energy show. At eye level with… the impeccably costumed Alex Donnelley’s short shorts, which remained through his many character metamorphoses. Close enough to see beads of sweat (or perhaps they were tears) dribble down Donnelley’s face.
A stomach dropping, truly thrilling ending
It is hard to know how to characterise the show: a comedic hero’s quest turned meta musings? An epic oedipal tale spanning six decades? A sort of sexless Brokeback Mountain? All hilarious.
At times lead Donnelly’s Canadian accent (which was impeccable) combined with the sheer speed of the script meant I had a little trouble keeping up – but it did not matter. Others laughed where I faltered, and the story carried us all along easily. The humour is goofy, but layered and paced so intensely it becomes dense, with something to suit a range of tastes. There is no shortage of stagecraft: from the goofiest slapstick and best pelvic rotation I’ve ever seen in a dance break, to a Hamlet's ghostly father reference, if that’s your thing (and it is mine).
Donnelly is to be commended on his impossibly energetic performancel, jumping between different characters, perspectives and tones at breakneck speed. The fourth wall is broken and then destroyed, in a stomach dropping, truly thrilling ending that I have taken a pact of secrecy not to reveal.
This unrelenting pace is matched with endless loops of self-referential and meta humour. The work teases itself from every angle. The show throws everything back in our face. “Cheap theatre tactics”, “cartooney bullshit”- there is no criticism I could give that the show did not already hurl at itself. I felt as though I had been turned inside out and flipped around by the end of it (in the best way). At times I even felt the play could be kinder to itself! The Handful of Bugs team certainly have the talent to back it.
