Fool’s Paradise, written and performed by Britt Plummer of FRANK. Theatre, brings a unique story grown right out of the Fringe circuit to FRINGE WORLD 2024. With music, words, puppetry and props, Plummer tells her bittersweet tale of a whirlwind, cross-continental, clown-based romance that doesn’t quite end the way it began.
Plummer, dressed all in white and a bridal veil, greets us at the door and asks us to take a handful of small, squishy bananas on the way in to use as confetti later. Once inside, she hands out a few more items to audience members and whispers sweet nothings (i.e., stage directions) into their ears. She’s preparing a wedding ceremony, and everything is coming together, except – where’s the groom?
Plummer then explains that she needs us audience members to help her with the groom’s partner visa and passes around a box of notecards and pens, asking us to write letters of support to help prove their relationship is legitimate.
She narrates her love story in flashback, giving us a sexy meet-cute via coffee cups as puppets to represent herself and Otto (the absent groom). Her story darts from Adelaide to the UK and Europe and back again, and she recounts their life in lockdown together – a litmus test for any couple for sure. Once the borders open, Otto is finally able to return to his family in Sweden, and from there, things start to become less certain between them.
Plummer has an undeniable charisma and an optimism that makes you root for her, even when things start to get shaky with her romance, and sometimes with the show itself. She does mention in a throwaway line at the top of the show that she still has some kinks to iron out, and that’s true. The show didn’t quite find and maintain its rhythm the whole way through; the sound was out of balance, with the music from the speakers overpowering Plummer’s dialogue on occasion. A body mic might have helped to even things out, but lowering the speaker volume might have done the trick too.
Plummer wants to include us in her comedy bits, but sometimes we weren’t sure when and how to join in. Perhaps a bit more overt cueing was needed (some audiences are a bit slower on the uptake), though I think Plummer has given herself a lot of marks to hit that have the potential to fly by too quickly in the rush of adrenaline that can take over during a performance.
In the end, the story concludes with a wedding, and who doesn’t love a wedding? This blushing, starry-eyed, bride is bananas in the best way, and Otto is the real fool in this scenario. Where else would you be able to get a glimpse into a plucky clown’s international, pandemic-stricken, visa-troubled love affair but at Fringe? Plummer’s heartfelt journey is a sweet ode to love, heartbreak, and mopheads, which are way more useful than grooms.
CICELY BINFORD
Fool’s Paradise runs at The Parlour at the Pleasure Garden from 19 January – 2 February. For tickets and more information click here.
