American Squatter by Barry Smith (Toronto Fringe 2008 Review)

by Sam Mooney

american-squatter I think I’d go see Barry Smith read the phone book as long as he had a Powerpoint presentation with it.  He’s a Powerpoint genius.  He also had the foresight to save the home movies and tape recordings he made when he was a child. Thank you Barry.

American Squatter is an autobiographical monologue that follows Barry the child from his home in Mississippi to his new home in Southern California to his life as a squatter in London in the late 80s.  Sort of a coming of age with the help of skateboarding, drugs, and music monologue interspersed with home movies and videos.

Barry is low-key, laid back, self-deprecating and very funny.  And sad.  Carol Burnett said that comedy is tragedy with time.  (I wish I’d known that but the woman sitting next to me said it after the show)

Definitely worth seeing.

There is one more performance of American Squatter tomorrow, Saturday, July 12 at the Factory Theatre. 

For more information see the Fringe website. 

Barry is also performing in Keir Cuttler’s Teaching the Fringe because Keir is in
Montreal making a vampire movie.  It’s also terrific and well worth seeing.

There is one more performance of Teaching the Fringe tomorrow, Saturday July12, at the Glen Morris Theatre.

For more information visit the Fringe website.

And on a personal note, this is it for me fringing this year, I off to the country tonight.  I’ve realized that I love one person shows, they’re my favourite.  So next year that’s all I’m going to see.