BONNIE & CLYDE - VAN FRINGE 2018

A remarkably quiet piece given the subject matter, Bonnie & Clyde by Adam Peck is, more than anything else, about human fallibility, the need to be loved, to be understood, and the struggle to make one's own way in life. 

Kennedy Sloane as Bonnie and Emmett Lee Stang as Clyde both give flawless and fully embodied performances, navigating the emotional undercurrents of alternating light banter and tense conversation with honesty and depth. With a minimal, but atmospheric set and soundtrack, I could feel the stifling heat and smell the dirty, dusty air of the pair's hideaway. This story is just a slice of time, at once dreamlike and shockingly mundane in the domestic details that make up any person's intimate hours.

Because the piece is so quiet and human and messy and unresolved, it does require stamina to stay present for the full 80 minutes. With the ebb and flow of tension remaining taught without building to any small moments of release, I did find my attention wandering, but they always brought me back.

I found this piece quite disturbing in the way it both charmed, delighted and troubled me. Director Larisse Campbell and these two talented actors have created a piece of subtle darkness doused in light. The rich undercurrents of which continue to visit my subconscious like a gently aching tooth.

Bonnie & Clyde by The Ordinary Productions is playing at the VanCity Culture Lab 6 - 16 September as part of the Dramatic Works Series at the 2018 Vancouver Fringe Festival.

~ reviewed by Danielle Benzon

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