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Delusions and Grandeur

 
Paul T. Davies Review by Paul T. Davies 5 Published: 28 Jul 2026 Three Wise Monkeys Show Dates: 25 Jul 2026-26 Jul 2026

The cellist and the jester can exist in the same body and spirit. Karen Hall’s highly original and personal show examines what it’s like to be an artist – to work tens of thousands of hours to develop a craft, to become among the best, and then what? Staged as part of the Colchester Fringe Summer Weekender, Delusions and Grandeur spoke to the artist in many of us and the humanity in all of us. The pre-show, in which Hall eats a sandwich and talks to the audience about her weekend and the food, removes any notion of a fourth wall immediately.

The cello becomes more human.

I’ve always found the cello to have a sweet melancholy, and that’s certainly true here. The formality of the occasion is represented by Suite No 1 in G major by JS Bach, played exquisitely by Hall – an oasis of calm in a city loudly celebrating the hot weather. But, like the formal evening gown she wears at the start of the show, Hall strips away the layers to reveal the self-doubting clown underneath. It raises questions about performativity, shape-shifting identity to accommodate what the hirer wants, how differently she had to dress (a short sequinned dress) to play Led Zeppelin in front of staring men at corporate events, the formality of the symphony, and how the audience should behave.

As the piece progresses, the cello becomes more human, underlining the co-dependency between player and instrument. Despite the mental and physical health strains that musicians suffer, the instrument is often taken care of more than the player. Success is filtered through the eyes of a "fool", and it becomes a deeply moving piece. And when you hear Hall play, you have to feel that the sacrifices have been worth it, even though we are the beneficiaries.

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The Blurb:

”As irreverent as it is poignant" (Australian Arts Review). Come for the music, stay for the existential crisis as genre-blurring jester and cellist Karen Hall peels back the layers of formality leaving you with only the humanity and insanity of the artist behind the instrument. And yourself. Featuring Suite Number One in G Major by JS Bach and personal comedic pieces crafted in Idiot classes, Karen fuses in a healthy dose of pathos tackling identity, expectations, and success through the eyes o