Daniel Piper's Day Off

Daniel Piper’s Day Off is a one man comedy show that goes through the different anxieties one feels when calling in sick to work. The show opens with Daniel out in a nightclub. He uses the entire venue as his stage popping up in different places between audience members armed with a bottle of Blue WKD. He takes a selfie with the audience before retiring to his bedroom on stage. In his intoxicated state he decides to write an outrageous email to his boss. Thankfully he doesn’t send it but spends the show then to-ing and fro-ing between the decision on whether to rebel or be responsible.

This performer has talent and potential and with some fine tuning this show could be very funny.

This show has a lot of promise - the concept is a good basis for a one man comedy play and Daniel Piper is a likeable guy. It deals with the everyday problems young professionals face and contains some insightful observations. However something just doesn’t work for me. The opening scene in the nightclub goes on for too long, the performer tries to create too much suspense with the will he, won’t he decision about sending the email to his boss, and some of the material is just not engaging enough to hold the audience’s attention throughout the show

However there are a number of good ideas in this show. Piper uses a Sliding Doors method to tell his story playing out a number of different scenarios which works well. He uses the space effectively and encourages audience participation. He takes time to reflect on his existence and explores a number of questions that most people in their twenties ask themselves. He mocks our ever changing consumer society and our dependence on technology and social media.

This performer has talent and potential and with some fine tuning this show could be very funny. Unfortunately at a festival with so much to see this show failed to make its mark on me.