Fringe Review: Brain Machine

Dates: Aug 21, 2024 - Sep 1, 2024

Location: VCM Wood Hall (Fringe Venue 2)

Performer: Andrew Bailey (Victoria, BC)

Duration: 60 mins

Rating: Ages 14+

Genre: Comedy, Storytelling

Review by Septimus & Carmunist

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Andrew Bailey is back with another fantastic monologue. Brain Machine ranges all over the place, from the history of computers and the internet to the fallout of his YouTube video that made it to the main page of Reddit.

Carmunist first fell in love with Bailey's witty, heart-on-his-sleeve monologue style back in 2010 when she first saw him in Atomic Vaudeville's Halloween special. We have both enjoyed his previous Fringe shows like Me, The Queen, and a Coconut, and so it was great to see him at work once again in Brain Machine. We caught the opening night: the room was packed, and the energy was high, and this for a performer coming off two weeks of sick kids and "three non-consecutive hours" of sleep!

Brain Machine is thoroughly enjoyable and will appeal to a wide range of Fringers. Bailey's comedic timing is excellent and there were plenty of laughs. What a pleasure to bear witness to the inner workings of Andrew Bailey's brain. It's also an emotionally impactful and vulnerable piece as he touches on (non-explicit) experiences of sexual assault and the shared experiences and perspectives that connect us.

Workshop notes

We have only nitpicky notes for this very fine show which we highly recommend you check out!

• This monologue covers a wide range of topics and themes, and while Bailey does a good job pulling them all together, we left feeling a bit muddled in terms of the overall statement or thematic cohesion. Still, this show will give you a lot to think about.

• Something felt off with the lighting cues. First, the initial stretch of opening darkness didn't come with the payoff that we expected. When the lights finally spotlighted Bailey as he delivered an emphatic line, someone in front of us in the audience remarked, somewhat sarcastically, "oh, how dramatic." It seemed like there was a comedic opportunity here that wasn't taken. Also, some of the lightning transitions felt too subtle or slow, and therefore distracted from the effect it seemed they were meant to have on the audience.

All in all and as said above, we recommend this show to all Fringers, especially those who enjoy a make-you-laugh-make-you-cry experience! We hope Bailey sells out the rest of this run, and that you enjoy this year's Fringe Festival.

Get your tickets to Brain Machine here.

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The Victoria Fringe Festival, presented by Intrepid Theatre since 1986, has become a cornerstone of the city’s arts scene, known for its unjuried, anything-goes approach to performance. For Carmunist and Septimus, Fringe is the highlight of the year. We’ve been involved as volunteers for more than a decade, and more recently, we’ve opened our home to performers as billets. Reviewing Fringe shows is something we’ve talked about for some time, and now we’re putting our experience as fiction editors and theatre stans to work, offering our thoughts and workshop notes for as many performances as we can attend.

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