Review: (Toronto) This Prison - or He Came Through the Floor (Fringe)

Home, Sweet Prison
by Winna Tse
@tsewinna

Have you ever been your own worst enemy? A prison inmate, played by the talented Johnny Wideman, also writer and director, is suddenly surprised one day when a visitor, played by the equally talented Benjamin Wert, digs a hole through to his cell offering him a chance at freedom. As it turns out, the prison inmate refuses to leave and would much rather have tea and go about his daily routines, much to the shock of the visitor.

Wideman and Wert have incredible chemistry. It is amusing to see the struggle between the very logical visitor and the erratic and eccentric inmate. Evidently, through their banter which is both intellectual and hilarious, the two belong on stage. Underneath all the slap-stick comedy and philosophical debates lies something more. Their dialogue and Wideman’s character sparks a realization in ourselves and that is that life is full of obstacles but oftentimes it is the obstacles within ourselves that can be most impossible to shake. 

This Prison is at the Toronto Fringe; it will subsequently appear at the Winnipeg and Edmonton Fringes
Read Benjamin Wert's first-person article on creating sets for a touring Fringe Show