I love Peggy Shaw: she is a performer that you want to see over and over again, maybe give her a hug and have a drink with after the show. Not only a brilliant writer, but a truly genuine performer—she is constantly there with you, in the moment, enjoying, giving, without a hint of irony or cynicism. She is the definition of a compassionate performer.
MUST: the inside story is no exception. Part anatomy lecture, part Beat reading, part Vegas lounge act, Shaw uses her biology as a touchstone to explore issues of birth, death, love, and intimacy. This is nothing new for her: in the past, Shaw has used allegories of biological determinism to expose the problems of gender, identity, and fate, such as You’re Just Like My Father.
MUST the inside story from UTRFestival on Vimeo.
Shaw’s words, co-written with Suzy Wilson, are the honest and somewhat oblique fare characteristic of Shaw’s body of work. (That’s right, Tweed uses puns unabashed.) We can an in-depth look at her skin cells, her bones, all in the service of the ever-evasive mind. She deftly maneuvers between a conversation with the audience, autobiographical reminiscence, and Tom-Waits-y songs about skeletons (see video), with delightful accompaniment from the Clod Ensemble.
But as always, the draw is Shaw’s persona. Her not-quite-virtuoso aesthetic is incredibly refreshing and charming. She is one of the few performers I feel that I really get to know through her performance. One doesn’t need a microscope, in the end, to get under Peggy’s skin. If anything, MUST is an obvious manifestation of Peggy’s work to date.
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