Feel Good Lost is Pitter Patter Productions’ debut performance at the Toronto Fringe Festival starring David Jackson and featuring Robin Luckwaldt Ross. Originally a two-hander written by Jackson and co-founder/co-writer Erin Burley, it developed into a one man show that gives us a glimpse into the desperation one can feel when a relationship has suddenly ended and the struggle one endures while trying to make sense of it all. I was intrigued to see how this character would cope with his anguish.
So this was originally a two-hander and I kind of wish it still was. The play was most dynamic when the charmingly boyish David Jackson (Elliot), and the hauntingly ethereal Robin Luckwaldt Ross (Lucy, in a cameo) shared the stage. I’m curious to know who advised Jackson to eliminate his scene partner in the final edits.
This is not to say that Jackson didn’t have the ability to draw me in on his own. He begins by immediately engaging the audience. It’s made clear that he sees us and that we should see him too. No one in the audience seemed too put off by this and were rather obliging when he would ask them to take his picture. We became his scene partners.
Jackson, with careful thought and ease, told the story of his love for a woman who is no longer a part of his life, due in part to his own actions. For a long while, we are kept in suspense as to why he lost her. But as the play progresses, like the flash of a bulb, we begin to get a glimpse.
I appreciated the symbolism that was peppered throughout the show. I felt it put a button on key textual moments. It was heartbreaking to see Jackson go through flashes of extreme pain, fighting his uncontrollable impulses, all the while trying to take the perfect picture that would potentially salvage what he had with his Lucy. His almost desperate belief in this was the silent tragedy beneath it all.
When Ross finally walked out on that stage, she sucked me in. Her cadence, her presence, her quiet nature was riddled with the after effects of a woman who tried but lost. I couldn’t help but hang on her every word.
This play is a deceptively heart breaking little piece. I’d tell anyone who enjoys a good solo performance to give this production a shot. It did a really good job at surprising me with where it ended up going as a story and I couldn’t be more pleased.
Details
- Feel Good Lost is playing until July 12th at Theatre Passe Muraille Backspace (16 Ryerson Ave.)
- Tickets are $12 in advance, $10 at the door. The festival also offers a range of money saving tickets and passes
for serious Fringers. - Tickets can be purchased online, by phone (416-966-1062), from the festival box office down Honest Ed’s Alley (581 Bloor West), or from the venue box office starting one hour before the performance. Venue sales are cash-only.
- Be advised that Fringe performances always start exactly on time, and latecomers are never admitted. Set your watch to CBC time, and arrive a few minutes early to avoid disappointment.
- Warnings: Sexual Content, Mature Language
Show Times
- July 04 at 06:45 PM
- July 05 at 09:45 PM
- July 06 at 05:45 PM
- July 08 at 01:15 PM
- July 09 at 01:00 PM
- July 11 at 02:45 PM
- July 12 at 05:45 PM
Photo of David Jackson by Daniel Yaworsky