Predicting the next big
show on the Fringe circuit is a little like trying to squeeze a champagne cork
back into the bottle after it’s popped. Lots of fun but completely impossible.
You’d be forgiven for thinking a new rap show that discusses our consciousness
and the impossibility of free will might not be your best bet, but you’d be
wrong. Part stand up gig, part lecture and part rap concert,
This is a unique Fringe event that is surely going places. It is that rare thing; a show that is both brilliantly entertaining and hugely informative
Baba Brinkman has buckets of stage presence. He’s funny, charismatic and not a bad rapper either. He has only two microphones, two chairs and an AV projection to support him - all of which are used sparingly and effectively. He poses many provocative and beguiling questions about who and why we are. How do you define consciousness? How do we talk about it? Does free will exist? How do we compare different types of consciousnesses and why does it matter? At times the show becomes a fun kind of neuroscience lecture. While things can get a little heavy at times, this only adds to its unique intrigue. This show refuses to condescend its audience. We are encouraged to take it or leave it and for every fact that shoots above our heads, we are offered another piece of information immediately afterwards. We are never allowed to be bored.
There are many stand out moments. A particular moving passage is Baba’s ode to his baby son Dylan – a hilarious and touching rap which, in his own words, is a demonstration of “how to dis your newborn in five minutes”. Other favourites are his explanation of the Jennifer Aniston neuron and when he explains the very immediate and important use the study of our consciousness can offer the disabled.
This is a unique Fringe event that is surely going places. It is that rare thing; a show that is both brilliantly entertaining and hugely informative. It’s also unlike anything else you’ll see this year. I for one, can’t wait to see it again.
