THERE'S a brilliant show developing here, and it might well be exceptional by the end of John Gordillo's Fringe run. At the moment, though, he's still working through his ideas, trying to assemble them into a more coherent structure.
Fundamentalis
m and his "dad issues" won't be eradicated overnight, but Gordillo seems determined to have a good bash at linking and resolving them this August, even if it bankrupts him. That this remains a very good show is a testimony to the concerted depth of his reasoning and convictions, plus an ability to impersonate his Spanish father in the manner of Scarface. In Divide and Conga, the personal is inextricably intertwined with the political, as Gordillo "grubbily" attempts to resolve family tensions under the pretext of cracking the terrorist mindset.
From opposite ends of the political spectrum, Gordillo aligns his father's defensive, deeply entrenched Marxism, cemented during the Spanish Civil War and manifested most volubly in a perception of "Hitler bastards" everywhere, with al-Qaeda's inclination to divide the world into believer and infidel, a refusal to engage with others. His son paints a picture of an intense, passionate martyr, a vulnerable single parent who delivers his child to school with a warning about "class traitor" teachers, upsets his grandson with a denunciation of the capitalist system inherent in Willy Wonka's chocolate factory, and who can conclude any argument with appeal to his testicles. As a result, Gordillo rejects all partisanship, arguing it's mere "family bullshit" that compels his father to blindly applaud a circus out of a sense of solidarity while he seethes at its dreadfulness, or a young Muslim to strap on a suicide bomb.
In support of his gradually building case, Gordillo presents insights into the harmonious qualities of tofu and the ridiculousness of honouring animals for wartime loyalty, culminating in a poignantly funny slideshow finale.
Until 25 August. Today 8:45pm
