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Delusions and Grandeur

 
Matt Brown Review by Matt Brown 2 Published: 4 Aug 2025 Summerhall Show Dates: 31 Jul 2025-25 Aug 2025

Towards the end of her emotional clown show about the struggles of being a world-renowned classical cellist, Karen Hall says she was once advised by a university lecturer to go into every performance 110% prepared. I fear that’s what went wrong here.

The biggest laughs and emotional reactions all came when she dropped the script

Although her cello playing was fantastic, Hall delivered her lines with an over-rehearsed pacing and intonation that left no space for authentic vulnerability and sincerity – two key elements of clowning and emotional theatre. The few moments where she briefly engaged in crowd work and dropped the script were (aside from the musical interludes) the best parts of the show, with the biggest laughs and emotional reactions all coming from these short segments. The bulk of her performance fell flat, however, with Hall’s long emotional silences feeling more awkward than profound.

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Come for the music, stay for the existential crisis. Genre-blurring jester, Karen Hall peels back the layers of formality leaving you with only the humanity and insanity of the artist behind the instrument. Featuring Bach's Cello Suite No. 1. Winner – Tour Ready Award, San Diego Fringe; Winner – Best of the Broadwater encore, Hollywood Fringe; Winner – Weekly Judges Pick, Sydney Fringe; Top 10 LA Theatre Pick – Stage Raw Los Angeles. **** (Everything-Theatre.co.uk ). **** (SydneyArtsGuide.com.au). **** (Tagg.com.au). Sold-out at Vancouver Fringe.