In the comfort of my home, on a day where my chores were miraculously all done and I didn't have to go into town, I finally had the chance to start reviewing the Fringe 2025 recordings I've so kindly been given.

First on the list was a show called "113".

I was invited to see the show given my love of absurd theatre, but I simply didn't have a spare moment in the day to come see it. I was only too delighted when they provided me with a recording to see what I had missed out on.

I talked previously about how watching a video was going to have me miss out on certain live aspects, and from the moment it started, I knew I had missed out on a really freaking cool one!

The show is performed on a split stage. It takes place in a prison where prison neighbours talk through a wall. However, you only get to see one side of the prison wall, which completely immerses you in the world of the perfomer. I almost want to watch the recording again with my eyes closed to get that voice only experience!

The show has the basic structure of most popular absurdist shows: who am I, where am I, how do I get out? It's popular for a reason, it's a formula that works very well. Although, it is extremely difficult to nail well.

"113" has its moments in the absurdist sun, but the show is in need of script rewrites. Absurdism needs to have its roots in reality to allow the absurdity to shine. I found the characters to be far too accepting of each other from the beginning, especially considering that they are strangers. It's not like "Waiting For Godot" where it's implied that the two lead characters know each other. We need the characters of "113" to earn their ease of conversation.

I greatly appreciated the use of objects to spur the memory of the prisoners (and thus granting them freedom when they remember everything.) It was a lovely use of props and great way to spur the story on. However, I did find that the script fell into the trap of things happening to move the story rather than the story moving because something happened.

Fun moments sometimes felt a little forced in the script. I thoroughly enjoyed and got a good giggle from the game of noughts and crosses being played through the slit at the bottom of the wall. It was beautiful imagery and just a sense of fun in an otherwise heavy story. However, it just felt like a part of the script rather than a natural moment.
"113" is a fantastic effort, but I thoroughly recommend exploring ways to have the story flow more naturally. The not knowing who they are or where they are should not hinder the nature of being human and reacting how humans naturally react. There is more to absurdism than just confusion, anger, and denial.
It's a great idea with fantastic staging and some really fun moments. It just needs to focus on natural story development.
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Did you see any absurdist shows during the fringe? Are you bringing one next year? Please let me know about it in the comments and have a fantastic build up to fringe! 😁
Love,
Tony x