The man who cannot lose

Game over. It's the taking part (and winning) that counts. Compulsive communicator and social loser Dr Johnny Facade is returning with the greatest gamble of his life. An obsessed quest of award-winning magic, multimedia and subversive storytelling. A new show from Buxton fringe 2010's "Best Comedy show" award runner-up (he's not bitter... honest).

Buxton fringe review - July 2010
Over recent Fringes, Johnny Indigo Facade (Matt Pritchard) has consistently delivered the best entertainment value per ticket Dollar spend - present day austerity has not diminished this yield.

2010's theme is 'Winning' - at all costs - in Johnny's case. Commencing with the birthplace of this mantra, an undeserved Sports Day defeat, he explains how this humiliation triggered his metamorphosis into a ruthless winner. The explanations are delivered in his trademark style - amusingly structured, Power Point charged and dotted with wonderful audience involving magic.

There's a more personal feel to this piece than previous years; less science and more poetry, though the climax of the high octane verses are pleasingly more Cooper Clarke than Keats. In ditching his calibrated white lab coat, Matt increases his exposure to the radiation of performance, a brave decision for someone who's not a natural moth to limelight. It proves a true case of the man who cannot lose and a successful evolutionary step, the added humanity was an intangible the audience could relate to and something with a half-life that lingers in the mind afterwards.

Highly recommended - on viewings to date it's a Top 5 show of this year's Fringe, which may be insufficient for Johnny, but is plenty for us losers in life.

Next public shows:

Greenbelt festival, Aug 2011.