Live Review: Tracy Hamilton's "I'm Actually Right About Everything: A Bisexual Love Story"
Filed under: Reviews
Full disclosure: I've known Tracy for several years. We first met when she was a guest's plus one on my former podcast, "Comedy Album Book Club" , and we've been friends ever since ??" so much so I went on to produce her podcast "Love Is Everywhere", which made watching her Hamilton Fringe play I'm Actually Right About Everything: A Bisexual Love Story hit that much harder. But if the audience was any indication, it didn't take a near 8-year friendship to make this play hit.
If you are a fan of comedy and frequent Toronto comedy clubs or the Winnipeg Comedy Festival (at which she's been on 2 galas), you will certainly have seen Tracy performing over the last decade. This Fringe performance feels like the culmination of a comedy career colliding with the culmination of a life lived. If you've ever watched Tracy's comedy, it's that impressive balance of insightful observations, kindness, and biting wit, and carrying this forward into a storytelling format has allowed Tracy to take premises she explored in five- and ten-minute chunks and transforms them into a cohesive and touching story exploring the confusion and trials of being a young woman dealing with her sexuality and the journey towards love.
Tracy's storytelling has a warmth and immediacy that makes you feel like you are in a conversation with a friend, sharing an intimate story about her life. A sparse set with minimal effects outside of a voiceover used strategically to excellent effect keeps the performance grounded in traditional storytelling, and her performance brings to mind comedic storytelling greats like Mike Birbiglia and Maria Bamford. She's charming while vulnerable, and entirely an open book. There's no guile or misdirection; this is a story where the teller is leading you by the hand on a gentle tour of their life.
The play itself discusses the topics of love, insecurity, and the pain through which we put ourselves to simply feel accepted and loved, which is one of the greatest challenges we face in life. We all seek love, and our journeys towards love take us on meandering paths. The kind and gentle generosity Tracy shows us sharing her life reminds us that we should trust our gut and that love truly is everywhere.
Having just completed a successful six show run at Hamilton's Fringe, Tracy will be bringing this performance to the Edmonton Fringe August 15??"23. If you're in the Edmonton area, get your tickets now while you can, because I promise this is a show that will sell out.
Tags: Tracy Hamilton, Hamilton Fringe, Edmonton Fringe, Winnipeg Comedy Festival, Theatre, Storytelling, stand-up
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