NOT ENOUGH by Megan Phillips (Megatron Productions). At Theatre Passe Muraille Mainspace. July 7 at 11:30 pm, July 9 at 1:45 pm, July 11 at 10:15 pm, July 13 at 3:30 pm, July 14 at 7:30 pm, July 15 at noon. See listing. Rating: NN
This solo show from Vancouver performer Megan Phillips offers a long and difficult look deep inside an anxiety-afflicted mind.
Seated cross-legged at centre stage, Phillips recounts checking in to a strict meditation retreat to try and curb her chronic and debilitating self-doubt and worry. To bring out her inner scary mind demons, she uses a loop station to record and then play back self-deprecating slogans. They run continuously in the background as a kind of sonic backdrop to her sometimes funny observations about the camps odd staff and sad stories about how anxiety has alienated friends, co-workers and a long-term partner.
A pretty accurate rendering of what anxiety feels like, the show is more educational than entertaining, with the continuous audio looping becoming a kind of endurance test.
