★★★★★
Autistic singer, storyteller and absurdist Paul Vickers, has been part of the Edinburgh Fringe landscape for well over a decade. So much so, that if you ever get in the way of his tractor beam you may end up coming back year upon year to bask(et) in his glory.
On the surface, Paul is chaotic and freewheeling, with a pile of props, dolls and puppets he often loses and throws about. His musical numbers are reminiscent of Dean Stockwell lip-syncing to Roy Orbison in Blue Velvet, and his stories sound like they are translated from an alien race deciphering human society. Yet, his ‘idiotic joy’ is infectious; he is a masterclass in play. There isn’t a moment of his show that is predictable, neither is it self-serving. With 3’500 shows at the fringe, you’ll be guaranteed 95% of them will be stand-ups talking about themselves. Paul is almost a hidden figure in his own show, a puppet-master operating marionettes of madness.
What I’ve always loved about Paul’s writing, whether lyrics or stories, is that he has a beautiful turn of phrase. It’s that northern soul, where the perfect description of the mundane and everyday turns it into poetry.
Vickers is the perfect example of outsider art. Self-taught and unencumbered by pretension, his craft is often ignored in favour of epithets of ‘oh it’s really weird and off the wall’, but anyone can be a bit silly and off the wall, this is concentrated hysteria that you can’t find anywhere else. If the world was to end, I’d like to be in a Twonkey show when it happens.
Twonkey’s Basket Weaving In Peru is on at Dragonfly till the 25th August.
