By Amy Nancarrow.
If you were to search the comedy section of the Fringe guide, you’d be hard pressed to find a show more original in its concept than Ryan Good’s hour-long bedtime story, Mustardseed.
Set in the fantastic Tuxedo Cat venue, Mustardseed sets the audience up with beanbags and pillows whilst Good regales them with the tale of a small dragon (ours was called Fiona) who, after the death of her father, stumbles into a magical dream world free of the day-to-day troubles of most adults. Dressed in pyjamas and clutching a mug, Good makes everyone feel comfortable and involved everyone in the story with just the right amount of audience participation and improvisation.
Good is clearly incredibly intelligent, and weaves a verbose and clever tale with visual aids and the help of US band Dirty Little Blondes for some delightful musical interludes. As with his other show Cosmonaut, Good’s second show is full of heart, drawn from personal experience, and incredibly funny. Good touches on despite touching on subjects such as death, grief, and depression, Mustardseed is heartwarming and uplifting; the strong message of familial love, particularly the relationship between a parent and their child, is a strong theme throughout, as is the message that despite the ‘pine needles’ (or, the troubles that weigh us down), there are always stars in the sky waiting to be viewed, whenever you’re ready to look.
Good’s ‘set’ is fantastically set up. He uses props and costumes to bring characters to life, and creates a spectacularly clever ‘tree’ using ribbons, fabric, and sheets. He asks the audience to help create a blanket fort when the story moves to a cave, and has small globes as fireflies. The set helps the story to become immersive and emotive, and enhances every aspect of the tale.
Ryan Good is a talented comedian, whose intelligence and good heart come shining through his work. If you want to see a truly creative, original, and uplifting show, Mustardseed is a must see.
Kryztoff rating: 4.5K
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