Writer: Timandra Harkness
Reviewer: Tom Ralphs
As the title would suggest Timandra Harkness’s show is about risk taking, the types of risks we can take, the potential consequences of taking them and the potential consequences of not taking them and sticking with what we’ve got. Harkness provides the audience with facts and figures and then puts them into practice as audience members are offered the chance of taking risks and winning big, or at least winning a fortune cookie or a pack of cards.
It’s an excellent premise for a show, but the balance between theory and practice isn’t quite right. After telling the audience there is a chance we will be presenting the show ourselves, she tells us what the chance is and explains the mathematics behind it before she invites six people on to the stage to roll dice. If they all land on a number randomly chosen by an audience member, then her job is done.
Only half of the die land on that number, but by that time the show has already been running for around twenty minutes. It’s a long time to demonstrate one point and the excitement behind the experiment has waned.
Audience members are then invited on to the stage to pick from five risk types, while the audience bet on what challenges they will take. There is no guarantee that the invited members will embrace risk rather than go for the safe option and Harkness is perhaps taking the bigger risk in hoping they will really embrace the spirit of the show.
It passes a pleasant hour and has a reasonable mix of humour and underlying message to make it entertaining but by the end of it, coming to the show doesn’t feel like a risk that delivers either great returns or crushing losses.
Runs until 25 August 2019 (not 19) | Image: Contributed
Review Overview
The Reviews Hub Score
Doesn’t feel like a risk that delivers either great returns or crushing losses.
