Absolut Fringe: Taylor Mac

‘The Review section of the paper’, Taylor Mac informs us, ‘should be renamed The Buyers Guide! Most people when writing a review just Google the artist and copy and paste’. Lamenting the fact that as a result of this, publications the world over have described him as ‘Ziggy Stardust meets Tiny Tim’, Taylor set about addressing this in his latest show ‘Comparison is Violence or The Ziggy Stardust Meets Tiny Tim Songbook’.

I was lucky enough to experience Taylor when here a few years ago, but for those of you unfamiliar with this unique performer an introduction is in order. Taylor will have to forgive me for a moment while I do what us reviewers are wont to do and copy and paste from his own website - ‘I believe my job as a theater artist is to remind my audience of the range of their humanity. I do this by using theatrical traditions and established styles and forms (which allow the audience to recognize what they’re experiencing) and injecting them with as much originality as I can (which creates surprise).’ Seems like a pretty fair summary to me.

‘Comparison is violence!’, Taylor informs us early in proceedings, the act of reducing an artists work to an imitation of another’s, akin to entirely devaluing their creativity and performance. He sets about informing us as to the damaging nature of this behaviour, through various media, the most prominent of which being the performance of songs from the Ziggy Stardust and Tiny Tim back catalogue. And when illuminated through his eyes, it becomes clear that all artistry is, the act of imitation - the Greeks were using every performing trick in the book long before anyone else. But a true artist pulls from these various sources, taking pre-established techniques and infusing them with the artists own voice and soul and hoping in the process that the result will be original, and inspire discussion and thought.

And it is here that Taylor as a performer comes into his own unique light. Listening to the songs of Ziggy Stardust through his interpretations was as if listening to them anew for the first time. The life and energy he breathed into these lyrics seemed fresh and raw (I’ll admit to not being familiar with Tiny Tim!). Taylor as a performer is equal times fierce and vulnerable, his voice commanding and strong, but the occasional quiver proved haunting, a brief glimpse at the exposed soul beneath. Personable and completely at ease in front of an audience, Taylor invited us to sit down on the floor, as he engaged with the audience in ways ranging from ukelele accompanied songs, group breathing exercises and readings from his notebook (excerpts from Lady Chatterley’s Lover, Shakespeare and, proving most enjoyable, emails with his long lost uncle). But the one thing that strikes most is purely how much fun he is having up there. A collective exercise in Mime, which involved blowing and then climbing into a giant chewing gum bubble, is not something you see every day!

Yet for all his enthusiasm, the fact cannot be escaped that comparison is only natural. It comes easy to us all, and no matter how much we may agree with his sentiment we may still find ourselves pigeonholing performers into certain categories in order to satisfy ourselves. Placing a nice fat label on something makes it less threatening, allowing us to reach the destination of an opinion without putting in the mileage. In our fast paced age, the destination is the goal for many. Taylor seems to acknowledge this while stubbornly refusing to concede. Determined to be viewed as creative and original in his own right, it remains to be seen whether this show will help him shake the shackles of the ‘Ziggy meets Tiny’ moniker.

Taylor did mention at one point during the evening that he always found it interesting that he was booked at things like the ‘Fringe Festival’ (pointing out that a booking at the ‘No Boundaries’ festival worried him, as he does indeed, have boundaries). While this may be a point of contention for him, its certainly cause for the rest of us to celebrate. Taylor to me goes hand in hand with all that the Dublin Fringe is all about. Different, powerful and inspiring, this is the kind of performance the likes of which is rarely seen in Dublin and praise must deservedly be given to the Fringe for showcasing this unique talent.