The introduction
of a spoken word category in the Fringe brochure – hot on the heels of the new
cabaret section – is not controversial: there is already a section for my
beloved physical theatre, and any attempt to break down the unwieldy mass of
events shoved into the larger sections is a relief for critics and casual
audiences. Hayden Cohen is quick to defend the new section, since his Age of the Geek does fall easily anywhere else.
“Geek is a funny show,
but it's more cerebral than your average standup,” he explains. Whilst it has a narrative of sorts, it is not
a play with a beginning, middle and end. Whilst my own show has variety as in
Cabaret, that doesn't work either as I don't use jazz hands. Spoken Word is for
word obsessives. The ebb and flow of the majority of the spoken word shows is a
marked difference to anything found in any other category.”
If
spoken word is still a slightly marginalized presence, this suits Cohen’s
content. “As the perpetual outsider filling the cliché of always being picked
last for the football team and being more comfortable with a motherboard than a
surfboard, it's clear to me that the smart kids now rule the roost,” he
comments. “Until relatively recently,
geeks were envied, but not liked. Now it's cool to be a geek and I wear it as a
badge of honour.” Even the musical elements betray a touch of obscure
technophilia. “It’s guaranteed to be the only show in the fringe with a MIDI
enabled stylophone.”
theSpace @ Surgeons Hall (V53)
Box Office: 0845 508 8515
FRIDAY 3rdth – SATURDAY 25th AUGUST 2012 – 3PM
(excluding Sundays)
