Robyn Perkins @ Underbelly Bristo Square
Splits your ears rather than your sides
10,000 Decisions is a painfully loud journey throughout Robyn Perkins’s indecisive life, mixing scientific facts with a desperate search for approval.
Apparently the average person makes 10,000 decisions in a day – this is one of the facts Robyn Perkins tells the audience in the beginning of an hour dedicated to discovering what it means to make good choices. Another is why black men like big bottoms, such as her own. A trained biologist, Perkins calls upon neuroscience to explain why her brain doesn’t work in line with her best interests, on top of a number of wacky anecdotes aimed to illustrate just how out-there she is. She talks a lot about her parents, comparing how different parts of the brain resemble their different approaches to life. She also goes on and on about being a loud American in what has got to be one of the most ear-splitting performances at the Fringe.
In the last section of the show, Perkins takes it upon herself to ‘solve’ a dilemma submitted by an audience member. This takes way too long and without knowing who the person is or if it’s a real problem it’s difficult to care about the outcome. In the end, she clumsily tries to tie everything together in a vague message about self-approval, but just like the show overall, it’s neither interesting nor funny.
Robyn Perkins: 10,000 Decisions, Underbelly Bristo Square (Daisy), 1-26 Aug (not 13), 5:50pm, £6.50-12
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