Arielle Dundas: Hyperactivity Disorder follows Dundas’ life with ADHD through a stand-up set. As she takes the stage however, a lack of Fringe experience seems to fail her: most of the audience is a few rows away, with only myself and one other in the first two rows. This immediately unsettles me as I assumed the group would be brought forward either by stewards or Dundas herself, yet she decides to push on without adressal. Sat so far away, it is inevitably a hard battle to win the audience over.
Sounding like half of a conversation with fellow New York socialites, there is a lack of unique voice on her relationships, politics, and life experiences. ADHD has been widely in the public consciousness in the past few years, yet Dundas addresses us as if it is entirely new and we are in need of thorough education. This loses time when more stories could be developed.
The set is in a podcast style with little build up, timing, or misdirection used at all. When I felt that an absurd punchline must be coming, instead it fell flat, the energy dissipated, and the audience pulled back again. The bones of some good jokes are in there, but need experimentation, development and refinement.
Arielle Dundas: Hyperactivity Disorder is at Just The Tonic at the Caves- Just the Spare Room (venue 88) at 22:20 pm until 25th August.
Tickets available here.
Images provided to The Student as press material