REVIEW: ABD WITH MARK THE C

Mark Cassidy's brings a heart-warming memoir of growing up in a motel in small-town Ontario. Standing behind a large, colourful booth, we discover that he also DJ’d for many years in said motel and highlights many moments of nostalgia and, perhaps, even a bit of melancholia while spinning tracks throughout.

We learn about Cassidy’s family history before settling into the main part of Cassidy’s life story. His father bought motels and fixed them up in small towns such as Alliston, Ontario (a settlement within Simcoe county) and Brockville, Ontario (located in Eastern Ontario). It’s just Cassidy, this booth and an LED disco ball with very subtle lighting cues throughout. We rely heavily on Cassidy’s vivid descriptions of people, scenery and events and thankfully, he excels at this. Some visual cues projected behind him may have helped this audience as the performance is very static and, at times, feels more like a This is Your Life episode with a plethora of music tracks fading in and out as Cassidy gets lost in his own memories.

With plenty of amusing stories, Mark Cassidy has created a very personal time capsule to share with an audience. This piece would benefit from some editing to keep it moving and rely less on the frequently changing music cues. There’s not a great deal of action to keep us engaged but the ongoing music selection makes you smile and reflect on your own past. It definitely speaks to the power music has on memory and it’s a worthwhile solo performance to check out at this year’s Fringe.