Review: (Toronto) Polly Polly (Fringe)

I Think I'm in Love
by Ramya Jegatheesan
@RamyaJImages

Who is Polly? She’s nobody. Or at least that’s what Polly thinks.  So she hides and lives in movies and bathes in lines like “You had me at hello” and “We’ll always have Paris”. 

But can an average call centre girl be the heroine of her own story? Will anyone want to watch her? Who would you be if you could be anybody? Who are you? These are the questions Jessica Moss grapples with in Polly Polly. Throw in a trolling omniscient narrator, some septuagenarian undergarments and Beyonce’s baby and you’ve got the makings of a riotous hit. 

Moss is captivating. She is by turns irreverent, self-deprecating and laugh out loud funny. But she is also vulnerable. Heart-wrenchingly so. It is that rare combination that makes Polly Polly such a riveting and, at times, profound experience. 

Plus, Polly has a Rafiki. Her very own wisecracking counsellor who shows her some capital T truths when she isn’t busy smacking the nonsense out of her. Did I mention Moss also plays faux Rafiki? Isn’t she talented? 

I can’t think of a bad word to say about Polly Polly. I’m trying. Really. But I think I kind of love it. 

So what are you waiting for? Polly Polly is one Fringe play that you do not want to miss. Especially if you are deep in the throes of a violent and never-ending existential crisis. Go see it.
Polly Polly is at the Toronto Fringe
Read also Jessica Moss's first-person article on Fringe and the creation of her show