Do you ever find yourself feeling differently about people from older generations? For Spencer, this has been a concern ever since COVID-19. Spencer Waldner uses a calm narrative tone to unfold his two-year experience in therapy, touching on themes of identity and his recovery from childhood trauma.
Waldner’s performance is sincere and honest. The entire play comes to me as a bold, courage-driven confession. Waldner delivers the play in a way that makes the audience feel trusted — like listening to a friend.
In Waldner’s words, we are seated in the “smallest Fringe venue,” which through the slightly cramped space creates a form of intimacy between the audience and the performer. Whether intentional or not, this correlates with the straightforwardness of the play. When the actors are very close-up to the audience, this creates an uncomfortable atmosphere. Therefore, the blocking should be handled with care and consideration for the audience, which is not done enough in this case. The spacing leads to the audience feeling uncomfortable emotionally, as the close proximity leads to the audience feeling almost ‘trauma dumped on.’
The play is written in an uncluttered style — almost in a movie-like way, yet still packed with theatrical emotions. The structure of the piece is fairly loose, so the way that lines are delivered and presented on stage is very important, as it is the defining key to audience engagement. Waldner’s acting captures the oppressive, melancholic tone of the performance very well, but lacks in building the connection with the audience. As the show is very slow-paced, this causes the crowd to become disengaged at certain points.
Overall, DADDY ISSUES surely has a promising and eye-catching title, but certain tweaks need to be made to achieve its full potential. With a bit more work on tightening the text, I have no doubt of its future brilliance.
DADDY ISSUES has finished its Fringe run.
Image provided to The Student for press use.
