Self-Destructivism

Company: The Placeholder Show, Winnipeg, MB

Genre: Comedy

Venue: 7 - The Cinematheque

 

I cannot claim to understand JD Renaud or all of his show, but I liked it.

—John Sadoway

JD Renaud reasons that the best way forward for all of us is to abandon the effort of making good decisions. 

He arrives at this curious conclusion fueled by his own struggle with a nonspecific mental illness and a collection of experiences that illustrate the potential absurdity of trying to make one's life work out relatively well.

Using a collection of very fringey and occasionally hilarious multimedia elements, he takes us through some poignantly horrible work and life moments, including his time as the host of a party bus - like being on a school bus where everyone has aged 20 years and matured not at all.

His pace is occasionally frenetic, his timing is very good, and he makes satisfying use of the comic non sequitur. I cannot claim to understand JD Renaud or all of his show, but I liked it.