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FRINGE REVIEW: rooms//apart

Mathew Bittroff is exceptional as "Trigger," a schizo who is newly admitted to a mental hospital, and deservingly so. Trigger--a common nickname for those diagnosed with his condition--quarrels with the voices inside his head, but his conversations are now directed at the co-patient in the room next door, "Switch" (Tim Cooper), a manic depressive who strums his guitar to pass the endless hours of solitude. The unstable pair find refuge in each other's company, and as Trigger gradually mends, he can't be sure if Switch is just another voice inside his head. This dark comedy tests our personal stance on the ethics of poking fun at mental illness, but if the laughs coming from the audience were any indication, nobody seemed to mind. The easy-to-like Cooper and (in particular) Bittroff kept us in stitches from start to finish, uncovering every available gag at the expense of the insane. Crazy has never been so much fun! 

Four and a half out of five stars.


more in Fringe Reviews     |     posted Aug 22nd, 2010 at 6:03pm     


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