REVIEW: The Comforter @ MARLBOROUGH

The Comforter

Stacy Makishi

The Marlborough

Brighton Fringe

The show suffered from a loss in translation from the start, ‘comforter’ as Makishi told us is American for Duvet but is also what American Catholics call the Holy Ghost. So there was play on words and on comfort that is beyond the easy reach of English speakers.

Non-the-less this intimate and highly personal set of stories all interlinked and woven together with a single point of trauma from childhood is an engaging hour of theatre. There are moments of bonding which work in different ways and some daft interactions with the ghost of George Michael. The point of it appears to be something about life affirming choices but this felt muddled and undefined. The transformation power of pop was a theme that ran though and perhaps if i was more of a fan of pop or of the late Mr Michael’s I might have felt more comforted.

The show is sold as an event that reclaims spirituality and gives a new perspective on the church, we certainly got Makishi’s perspective on a lot of things, from folding sheets, to the smell of ginger flowers luau and the fun of finding coincidences but I didn’t feel there was anything new offered.

The deeply personal stories about loss and the rejection of love and some curious explorations of neediness both circle around the main focus of this show; the performer herself and avoid the supposed purpose, to find comfort.

While Makishi is an undeniably enquiring and affable performer and utterly charming to watch I found this performance curiously without soul.

You gotta have faith. Nui kalakalai, manumanu ka loaa.

Full details of the show can be found here