While still a young man, Russell McGilton embarked on an extended trip around the world. Accidents Are Prohibited On This Road documents this part of his life as a series of outrageous incidents he found himself in.
As Russell started out with sequence of travel photos it could have been assumed that this slide show would be the basis for the show, but this device soon took a back seat to Russell weaving his storytelling magic for us. Aside from the odd montage of happy snaps, the remainder of show involved Russell letting his words transport us to the numerous crazy situations he encountered. There were some moments of poignancy that gave the show light and shade. He littered the show with a number of rather crude jokes that, while vaguely relevant to the story at hand, were quite confronting and got laughs/groans from their shock value.
Russell was extremely animated in his delivery; putting on all manner of accents and wide eyed gesturing to bring these wild “fish out of water” tales to life. His comic timing was spot on and his storytelling was engaging. After a run earlier in the year and being under the watchful eye of two Dramaturges, this was a highly polished piece of theatre.
His often cartoonish portrayals of the colourful characters he encountered could have easily become racial stereotypes (with the aforementioned off-colour comments and exaggerated accents, he often came across like a bloke showing off to his less traveled mates down the pub) but he was able to temper this with a sense of naivety. Observational humour examining the alien attitudes of the locals may have been the focus of the show but the parallel thread of youthful folly allowed him to often become the butt of of the joke.
He occasionally posed questions to the audience to gauge their views about certain aspects of travel. Rather than use this feedback as the source of ad libbed material, he used them only as segues to his next bit of tightly scripted material, fishing for the correct answer. Any deviation from the running order resulted in the dismissal of the comments or some light admonishment for getting ahead of him. This faux interaction may have given us the impression of being involved, but it mostly slowed down the show. Perhaps he felt the pacing needed controlling at strategic points?
The staging of this performance was deceptively sparse with basically Russell alone on stage telling his tales with the now requisite computer and projector but there were other touches. Subtle lighting changes aided in setting the mood and scene, while audio cues provided witty punchlines and additional atmosphere.
A great storytelling show that had everyone fascinated and delighted at his adventures.
Visit the Fringe website for booking details.