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Stage 22, Holy Trinity Anglican Church (10037 84 Ave.)
A brilliant stand-up set disguised as a serious science lesson, Amica Hunter’s show is like the mutant love child of Laurie Anderson and David Attenborough.
Emerging first as a bearded man whispering through a long set of tubes at select audience members, Hunter next stripped their clothing to reveal an Alanis Morissette skin suit and meaty Bodyworks muscle shirt down to a skeleton onesie, asking the audience if they were comfortable.
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“You liars,” they said, passing bottles of ibuprofen and Skittles around the room, Hunter hilariously detailing all the rituals they need to fall asleep at night with props including a mouth guard, Vaseline-covered hands and a rolling podcast under the pillow.
This moved into a long discussion going to a vote of the very weird question, which is the best format of corporeal being: endoskeleton (like us), exoskeleton (like a crab) or hydrostatic skeleton (such as a worm)?
Answering a scientific query from an audience member, Hunter noted, “Rather than bulls—- you, I’m just going to let you know I dropped out of college to go to clown school.”
Then, as the actor was describing the brief life of their pandemic pet crayfish, an actual indoor squirrel ran along the pipes overhead, adding to the taxonomical delight.
The perfect BYOB (bring your own body), Anatomica is an hour of chewy, fleshy charm.
Find more reviews of the 2023 Edmonton International Fringe Festival in the Arts section at EdmontonJournal.com.
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