Underbelly, Cowgate, Delhi Belly
Aug 6-11, 13-25
12:55
Being back at the Edinburgh Fringe was a pleasure on a very hot summer’s day, arriving all ready to immerse myself in that special and unique vibration of international art condensed and in abundance. I was in Scotland’s capital to see one Michael Kunze, whose brain-child ‘Infinity Mirror’ was listed as a character/musical comedy – an intriguing title.
He came on with a chef’s white coat and twangy American accent, flinging ham into the room, provoking delightful amounts of chaos which prepared us for the fun ahead. Not long afterwards tasteless jokes began to emerge – the edgy and fringelike mention of cocaine, sex parties, and the more unusual goal in life of partying with Tom Hanks.
This was his first performance of this year’s Fringe (last Friday), and he quickly got over his nerves, delivering a show packed full of great ideas, entertaining the audience through many costume changes, character changes, and many an expanding embellishment to keep the story interesting.
The story was the traditional tale of wanting to make it to the top of the acting industry, willing to do all and everything to do so, to be hoepfully completed by the aforementioned attendance at a Tom Hanks sex party; a dream, a directions and a drive that propelled him onto many adventures.
Michael’s skill and talent was in evidence; he had performed in Edinburgh before at the 2022 fringe, but two years later ‘Infinity mirror’ is his first solo show. En route he has won awards for his writing, for working with writers’ groups, and for running a fresh and vibrabt London-based scene. He is clearly a hard working fellow, and as a writer-director living in London he finds himself ‘obsessed’ (his own word) with celebrities’ self-aggrandisement, an obsession which poured deep into his comedy.
Overall, Infinity Mirror is a well-written story ridden out with gusto and providence, although a little light on the actual comedy. But saying that, it is quite impossible to ignore the precision with which he has written that most infamous of theatrical tropes; the rise and fall of stardom… and crafted it all into a pleasant, entertaining spectacle.
Daniel Donnelly
themumble.uk 