Bigfoot Ripped My Dog in Half I Saw It playing at Summerhall comes from the acclaimed creative partnership of SoHo Theatre, SoHo Playhouse and Fringe First winners Xhloe Rice and Natasha Roland, who co-direct and perform this madly absorbing play with the best title of the Fringe. It’s a wild, weird ride through small-town America and stuffed full of raw energy and absurdity and I loved it.
The pair tell the story of how Bigfoot is wreaking havoc in their small, flood-damaged Appalachian town. As the paranoia ramps up, they effortlessly pivot between playing the two teenage girls who invent a fake monster sighting to cover up an accident, one their dad would “kill them for”, and snapshots of gossiping townsfolk. It moves at a breakneck pace, with high-octane acrobatics; rolling over each other’s backs, balancing on shoulders and so on. Every so often, under stuttering lights, Bigfoot emerges as the duo hold pieces of the monster, physically creating the illusion.
Natasha and Xhloe, along with co-director Tom Costello, create a whole world with complete conviction. Crucially, they also know when to change pace: holding the room in silence, simply staring, reacting, allowing the audience to absorb the enormity of the event. Their faces painted in classic clown/Commedia style help us tune into their exaggerated expressions and character changes.
The narrative of Bigfoot Ripped My Dog in Half I Saw It is expertly crafted, jumping time frames and offering differing viewpoints. Projected questions periodically punctuate the narrative, the following action reframing our perspective. With only a stop sign and pieces of the Bigfoot costume as set, it’s a massive stage to fill but the duo populate the entire space through sheer stage presence and the expert sound and lighting designed by Angelo Sagnell enhances it.
It’s hilarious, eliciting laughs of recognition at the archetypes they portray with one skilled movement, the embittered Sheriff or gun-hoarding veteran and so on. Yet, the humour doesn’t undermine the poignant moments and tragedy that occurs when their bogus story spirals out of control.
Watching Bigfoot Ripped My Dog in Half I Saw It made me feel hopeful about theatre’s future, especially seeing a younger audience engaged and excited by a complex production. Beneath the comedy and frantic action lie sobering themes about how easy it is for the insidious power of fake news to take over when a community is strained by deprivation and disaster and asks, ‘who wants the truth anyway’. So pertinent for our times. Go see this one if you are lucky enough to get a ticket but watch out for Bigfoot, you might be the next victim!
Listings and ticket information can be found here
