Like most Fringe shows, The Gay Divorce is best entered with little to no knowledge about it. Cecilia Corrigan’s performance is one best experienced with an enthusiasm for camp comedy and the desire to have a good laugh. Written and acted by the self-proclaimed ‘sad clown,’ The Gay Divorce is packed with character performances, entertaining monologues, and an incredibly determined actress that gives her all for the hour that this show goes on.
To best describe what The Gay Divorce is about, the opening act is starred by a 3000 year-old immortal witch rambling about the terrible state our world is in. Having seen, well, most of our understanding of what constitutes human history, our witch tells us that we are in “big… big trouble.’ Accompanied by her ever-present “intern” Jessica — played by the director of the play, Allison Brooks — Cecilia Corrigan runs around stage, interacts with the audience, and perfectly embodies a woman who has seen it all and is certain that she has cracked the way to a successful life.
After a sudden death induced by a drop of water, we see our second, and most prominent, character of the evening: a gay trophy wife on the brink of what everyone can tell will be a short-lived and catastrophic marriage. Shown to the audience with a somewhat whiplash-y back and forth between a TikTok dance and short-form content video monologues, Corrigan masterfully builds up this character to be someone we both pity and cannot look away from.
In comes our third character: Jesus. Wearing a loin cloth and nothing else, Corrigan mixes her trophy-wife’s inability to see the reality of her situation with the son of God. What could be the weakest character of the performance is quickly then switched out for an angry worm that invokes self-reflection onto the audience, making us wonder why we enjoy watching the suffering of others. Or perhaps just why we enjoy watching a worm wriggle around in dirt.
For the final act, we are now in a post-apocalyptic world with our trophy-wife now turned into the leader of a survival group in the very same beach house she was boasting to her followers about earlier. In a full-circle moment, there is endless comedy to be had with the contrast of who we first met, and the woman that now stands on stage, helping the audience survive this newly destroyed world, always advocating that sex is the answer and wearing glitter and high-heel pumps.
Cecilia Corrigan carries this performance on her back and looks fabulous doing it. Her quick outfit changes as well as ability to make every single scenario amusing made for this show to be such a memorable one. It cannot be overstated though how important Allison Brooks’ performance was to add that extra spark that made the show be a laugh out loud one. Definitely a must-watch for lovers of gay comedy, witches, and worms. Maybe not Jesus.
The Gay Divorce is running until 29 August in Willow Studio at Greenside @ Riddles Court. Buy tickets here.
Photo by Erica Maclean.
