Seymour Mace @ The Stand

Wearing a homemade chicken costume and cradling a lifeless ragdoll with a bullet hole in his head, all while Johnny Cash’s Hurt plays over a slideshow of simpler times, Seymour Mace opens his show with a section that is "a bit up its own arse." He then struggles to define what these vignettes mean, all he knows, and all that’s visible, is a man truly enjoying himself.

In private, Mace admits to being a mess of anxiety and depression but on stage he is free of societal shackles, undressing to his undercrackers without a care and still entertaining the crowd with surreal crowdwork he has become known for. Mace doesn’t look for meaning in his work but he knows others will do that for him. He just wants to do stuff he finds funny, and thankfully everyone else finds it funny too. Whether it be the recreation of Pete Best getting kicked out of The Beatles, a gameshow about hating films, or a truly joyous pirate-based ending, Magical Shitcakes is a perfect way to start the day at the Fringe.