By Sam Mooney

One of the things I really enjoy about Fringe is that it gives me an opportunity to see shows that are outside my comfort zone.  I really don’t like clowns. Mal (Rachelle Elie) is a clown.

Through the first ten minutes of the show I was thinking that  I had made a mistake in coming and that it was going to be a long hour. Then Mal started to sneak up on me, I started enjoying the show.  By the end I was really glad that I had come.

I still wasn’t comfortable with the ‘angry’ clown but I loved Rachelle’s story.  I loved seeing her morph from one clown character to the next. The final sketch was brilliant.

Did the show change my mind about clowns?  Not entirely but I’ll be more open-minded about clown shows in the future.  Is Rachelle Elie an excellent clown?  I think so.  She’s certainly a very talented performer.

Go see Mal.  If you love clowns you’ll love this.  If you don’t like clowns Mal might just change your mind.

And the venue is air-conditioned!!!!

Details:

–Mal is playing at the George Ignatieff Theatre, 15 Devonshire Place
-Wed, June 30 7:00 PM
Fri, July 2 1:15 PM
Sun, July 4 6:30 PM
Tue, July 6 1:15 PM
Wed, July 7 11:00 PM
Fri, July 9 3:30 PM
Sat, July 10 8:00 PM
– All individual Fringe tickets are $10 ($5 for FringeKids) at the door (cash only),  Online at www.fringetoronto.com, by Phone at 416-966-1062, in person (June 30 – July 11 only) at The Randolph Centre for the Arts, 736 Bathurst Street (Advance tickets are $11 ($10+$1 convenience fee), and $5 for FringeKids (no convenience fee for kids tickets).
– Several money-saving passes are available if you plan to see at least 5 shows