Tooth and 'Nuckle

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Matt Johnson’s solo improvisational piece, Tooth and ’Nuckle, at the very-out-of-the-way and very cool Hanke 2 space (1128 Main St.), might not be for the faint of heart, even by Fringe standards. The setup is pretty straightforward. A bare stage sports a phalanx of masks and puppets fashioned out of grocery bags, and audience members are invited make a selection for Johnson to use as starting points for off-the-cuff scenes and soliloquies.

This is tough stuff for even the most accomplished improvisers, but Johnson seems to have a few artistic axes to grind, and the material can quickly become aggressive and sexual, or both — at least on opening night.

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To Johnson’s credit, there were a few insightful moments that were worth being present for, and he has great singing voice when he decides to deliver his thoughts musically.

It’s hard to comment on the content of the show, as the staging and premise are intentionally minimal and will change with every performance. Still, if you are looking for art that feels a little dangerous and doesn’t really care to play nice, you’re ready for Matt Johnson and Tooth and ’Nuckle.

(Note: I fully expect that he will rudely mock this review at all future performances.)

06.05.2011 at 10:51 Reply

RandyW

Tooth and 'Nuckle my rating- 2.5 out of 4* This may well be the Fringiest show this year. The rating is perhaps artificially low due to some technical difficulties that had the background voice/music track overwhelm the on stage patter. Even with that, we enjoyed ourselves. A description is tough, since it is a totally improvised show, and it is hard to guess how the next show might go. Here is what we got: loud background of sound, music, and rumbling voice (God?), a man on stage who begins with a paper bag mask and proceeds to improvise stories prompted by that rumbling voice and paper bags of props. Will the next show(s) have even the same voice behind the scenes and bags of props? If so, what might the voice say and the props be? Too damn fringy to predict, but if you are adventurous, check it out and let me know.