Island Fringe Festival's show goes inside character's mind

If you're strolling by Beanz coffee shop in downtown Charlottetown in the evening over the weekend, careful or you might walk straight on stage.

That's because its patio is the venue for a new play at the annual Island Fringe Festival, called Nutshell.

It debuted Thursday night, and three of the cast stopped by CBC Radio's Mainstreet to speak with Karen Mair.

Heavy topic, lighter moments

They described the show as being about a weightier topic — anxiety — with some humour and lighter moments spread in.

"It's a bit of a play on words as well, I suppose," said actor Noah Nazim. "The somewhat pejorative use of the word 'nut', and also we're sort of cracking at this guy's shell in a way, we're getting to see the interior of this guy."

The main character has a severe anxiety disorder, which has been getting worse, and he's just gone off his medication, which is the catalyst for the play.

"The primary conceit really is that the voices in his head, the kind of voices that most people hear I imagine, are externalized and imagined as real," explained Nazim. "Played by actors, each one embodying a different facet of this guy's personality. In my case, I'm apathy, and I'm joined by catastrophe, naivete, and intimacy."

While everyone knows anxiety is no laughing matter, humour is part of the play, as the audience gets to recognize some of their own fears and worries, provided by the actors playing the voices speaking to the main character.

"For the audience's perspective, they provide a lot of the relief in certain scenes," said Ashley MacLeod.

Her cast mate, Jay Gallant continued: "It can really show people the drama that we don't like to talk about, we don't like to do it, and sometimes it hits a little close to home for the audience. So a couple of the laughs last night were for sure, 'Ha-ha. Ha,'" imitating a nervous laugh.

Loving the festival

The play came together as an outgrowth of previous years at the fringe festival, as the author, director and local theatre community were all inspired by the atmosphere of the event.

"One of the best things about it is you're hanging out with really cool people at a really beautiful time of the year, doing something that is this fun," said Nazim.

"I think the part that I like best is that it's so supportive," added MacLeod. "Last night we went to one of the other shows, Life Is A Pomegranate, absolutely adored it. And after the show, it's a one-woman show, she approached us afterward and said, 'I can't wait to see your piece.'"

You can see the piece as well, with remaining shows Saturday at 7 p.m., and Sunday at 5:30 p.m.

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