People Show, 101

Review in Issue 8-1 | Spring 1996

This is the People Show's 101st show. I overheard somebody say as they left the auditorium, ‘I don't know what was going on but it was quite funny’. Ostensibly 101 is about the personal inadequacies that are at the root of religious cults and their followers. The People Show took us behind the facade of a professional dry cleaning business, where scientists in white coats (like in the soap powder ads) were trying to cleanse their souls. That they chose this obscure scenario to illustrate their theme indicates how little intention they had of shedding light, divine or otherwise, upon it. They are interested in the obscurity of holy ritual and communities, and explore their theme entertainingly. With a nicely restrained and humorous style the characters performed the rites of starching and pressing and taking coffee breaks. Mishaps took on miraculous significance. Chemical spillages or falling into the cleaning machine inspired religious tableau and caused inexplicable pregnancies and the threat of nuclear Armageddon. Oddly, and probably sensibly, nowhere amongst all the plumbing or test tubes was there any mention of God. Perhaps that was the real message?

Presenting Artists
Presenting Venue
Date Seen
  1. Jan 1996

This article in the magazine

Issue 8-1
p. 21 - 21