Fringe Play Reviews

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7 (x1) Samurai

By: David Gaines

David Gaines / Arlington, VA

07/14/2010 2:36 PM | Comments: 0 (including replies) Our Rating: Your Average Rating:

In his minimalist, hour-long tour-de-force, Virginia actor David Gaines slices through the public aversion to mime and clowning with breathtaking precision in an impressive re-enactment of Akira Kurosawa’s film masterpiece The Seven Samurai.

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In 7 (x1) Samurai, he pulls off an unassisted pop-culture triple play by blending a Loony Tunes sense of humour with Chaplinesque physical comedy and a nod to those legendary samurai skits John Belushi made famous on Saturday Night Live.

Dressed in a short black kimono over a white gi, the pasty-faced Gaines communicates the tale of 16th-century marauding bandits and samurai warriors through a constant stream of sound effects (the bombidy-bombidy of horse hooves, for example) and acrobatic movement so seamless they allow him to portray both sides of a brawl simultaneously.

Although the sword-fighting epic involves a bloodbath, it is all imagined, so it won’t scare older kids.

— Kevin Prokosh

From the official Fringe Festival guide:

Best Solo Show and Best of the Fest in Orlando Fringe 2009!

Critics Pick and Acclaim Award in Cincinnati 2009!

Best Solo Performance in DC Fringe 2008!

One man performs the epic story of Seven Samurai – complete with victimized peasants, marauding bandits, samurai warriors and spectacular fight scene – retold at comic breakneck pace. Unique, riveting and very funny.

www.7x1samurai.com

RECOMMENDED: General Audience

60 min
Venue#1 MTC Mainstage 174 Market Av. Entrance on John Hirsch Pl

Tickets: $10
Discount Tickets: $9 for Kids (12 & under), Fringe performers and volunteers

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