Lou Pardi plays Harriet – a resentful legal secretary with a nasty habit of ‘borrowing’ various items from her colleagues without their knowledge… and never returning them. It is this behaviour that, on one seemingly normal (normal meaning mundane and awkward) day at the office, sees her reporting to the company psychiatrist.
The show consists of one main scene set in the psychiatrist’s office, with a slightly off cue prerecorded voice over serving as the doctor who guides Harriet through revealing the reasons behind her kleptomaniac ways.
As Harriet proceeds to pull one item after another out of her cardboard box of shame, she justifies her recent acquisition of each object. For anybody that has ever worked in an office, it is understood that some outlet of frustration must be found in dealing with annoying co-workers. For Harriet, this was her outlet.
Any cubicle-bound, suit-wearing employee of an office, in any given industry, will no doubt recognise the characters that Harriet is talking about and be able to empathise with her situation. You will chuckle at Harriet’s absurd method of serving justice to those she feels have wronged her in some way, but you will laugh because you know the exact same thoughts have run through your head, probably only hours before walking into see the show. So, is Harriet crazy? You’ll have to wait until the final scene to be able to make your final judgment on that one.
The very relaxed environment of the Purple Emerald lounge was the disappointment of this show on the night. Lou was often fighting to be heard over the customers in the back half of the lounge who were not primarily there for the show. Given that this was a preview night however, the few minor problems that were encountered will hopefully and most likely be sorted out for the shows full run.
A Brief History of the Stapler… is on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays until April 28th. For further details and bookings, see the comedy festival website