Ain’t True and Uncle False is described as a “one-man fairytale comedy (with songs!)” on its Fringe page. Paul Strickland concocts a slew of tall tales with reflections on his Grandpa in between, whose life and death fuel Strickland’s fire. Characters in the tales include (sound them out) Roo Mahazit, Fay and Bree Cation, Ma and Papa Ganda, Will Purge … you get the idea. I thought the names to be clever and some of the plot lines fantastical (sorta reminded me of that movie Big Fish). The thing that I love about Ain’t True and Uncle False is the idea of storytelling not only as a way of entertainment, but as a way of keeping ancestors alive.
At the end of the show when Strickland was thanking the audience and naming off a few shows to see, he mentioned Seth Lepore’s Firecracker Bye Bye (Lepore shouted the name from the audience when Strickland had trouble remembering it). Based on the one show of Lepore’s I’ve seen and Jay Gabler’s review of his Fringe show this year, audiences who liked one would like the other.
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