There’s something raw and vulnerable about telling a personal story. It’s the stuff of memoir, autobiography, of poetry and prose. Martin Dockery is well-acquainted with openness and even oversharing, as he’s a storyteller who travels to Fringe festivals around the world telling true tales from his own life.
Dockery performed his Fringe act “Delirium” to a full, engaged audience on Wednesday night. The 70-minute show consisted of three stories — all about death and love, in various ways — that elicited both laughter and tears from the audience. Dockery uses no props, no costumes, no technical design of any kind other than basic lighting. Otherwise, it’s simply him, onstage in a t-shirt and slacks, using his hand motions and his vocal cords to immerse the audience in whatever scene he is describing.
Dockery transports his listeners from the Toronto airport, to Burning Man, to his Brooklyn apartment, and back to another airport (this time, it’s JFK) during the show. His nuance and comedic timing are everything as he weaves suspense, shock and joy into his delivery. But it’s not improv, and it’s not stand-up. And though the title of the show suggests otherwise, Dockery is a man in full control of not only his senses, but the senses of everyone in the audience. This is storytelling at its finest, and Dockery is a master of the trade.
“Delirium” will be performed again at 9 p.m. on Thursday, September 19; at 5:45 p.m. on Friday, September 20; and at 2 p.m. and 9 p.m. Saturday, September 21, at School of the Arts: Club SOTA. $15. Appropriate for 13 and over.
Dockery performed his Fringe act “Delirium” to a full, engaged audience on Wednesday night. The 70-minute show consisted of three stories — all about death and love, in various ways — that elicited both laughter and tears from the audience. Dockery uses no props, no costumes, no technical design of any kind other than basic lighting. Otherwise, it’s simply him, onstage in a t-shirt and slacks, using his hand motions and his vocal cords to immerse the audience in whatever scene he is describing.
Dockery transports his listeners from the Toronto airport, to Burning Man, to his Brooklyn apartment, and back to another airport (this time, it’s JFK) during the show. His nuance and comedic timing are everything as he weaves suspense, shock and joy into his delivery. But it’s not improv, and it’s not stand-up. And though the title of the show suggests otherwise, Dockery is a man in full control of not only his senses, but the senses of everyone in the audience. This is storytelling at its finest, and Dockery is a master of the trade.
“Delirium” will be performed again at 9 p.m. on Thursday, September 19; at 5:45 p.m. on Friday, September 20; and at 2 p.m. and 9 p.m. Saturday, September 21, at School of the Arts: Club SOTA. $15. Appropriate for 13 and over.
