FRINGEWORLD 2017 – Comma Sutra (5 stars)

by

Review by Laura Money

Louisa Fitzhardinge is in love…with the English language! Well, actually, she’s in love with language in general, including French, German, and AUSLAN. In her cabaret show, Fitzhardinge extols the virtues of loving grammar. She takes you on a musical journey through her pet hates – namely people who write ‘potatos,’ misuse the word literally, and don’t know where to place a comma (Oxford or otherwise.)

This is a slick show. From the very beginning, Fitzhardinge bounds onto the stage in a red dress and the most awesome tights ever (they are covered in punctuation!) and waxes lyrical about grammar with great enthusiasm. After explaining all of her grammatical pet hates – misuse of quotation marks, in particular, Fitzhardinge gets to the heart of the show – she is looking for love.

Unfortunately, her grammatical standards are pretty high. The perfect man would have to be able to use a double entendre, split her infinitives, and maybe even whisper sweet puns into her ear. Fitzhardinge’s show is, on the whole, rather positive. It could have been a negative rant about how people mangle the language she loves so much, instead it’s a celebration of all of the things that make her excited about it.

At the heart of Comma Sutra is an absolute affection for all things wordy. From ‘little bookworm’ to ‘grammar nerd,’ Fitzhardinge shows you that language has the potential to grow and change a person, and should be revered. Language really is beautiful.

 

When: 31st January – 4th February 2017 | 9:00pm

Where: Ace’s Cabaret | Downstairs @ The Maj | PERTH

Tickets: $36 – $40

Info: Duration 50 minutes | Suitable 15+

Link: https://fringeworld.com.au/whats_on/event/comma_sutra/72774024-54e0-416a-8faf-381d7184b95a/