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Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Fringe Festival: "The Unknown Matters"

Day: 8

Show: 22


By: Broken Boot Theatre

Created by: Mark Sweeney

Location: HUGE Theater

Summary: Two friends and colleagues explore ideas lofty (dark matter, new planets, the universe) and mundane (snacks!).

Highlights: I found the music in this piece, written by Mark Sweeney, to be completely lovely. He and Katie Bradley harmonize about physics and the universe and friendship and life, accompanied only by a ukulele, and the result is hauntingly beautiful. The plot is simple - Peter and Sarah work together, spending their days researching the vastness of the universe, until Peter gets sick and they are forced to rethink their routine and their life. But not in drastic, dramatic ways; this is a quiet and subtle piece. They make great use of silence, leaving plenty of room for ideas to breathe. The question on the chalkboard asks, "What are you waiting for?" Possible answers: "equality for all, adventure, ice cream, planets, dark matter, something to begin." In the busyness of the Fringe Festival, The Unknown Matters is a reprieve of quiet, simple beauty.