Words: Billie Cogman

4 stars

“Meandering” feels dismissive. It’s a word that heavily implies that you don’t necessarily know where you’re going, but you’re headed somewhere. You’re rolling with the punches as you walk casually towards an uncertain destination. 

Chris Cantrill meanders better anyone else. If you see Chris at this Fringe, it means you’ve found yourself in a basement at what feels like the wee hours of the morning. You’re about to listen to one of your mates tell you about the weird thing that happened the other day. Chris is an incredibly likable man who makes his show feel like a nice chat. He announces early on that he is about to tell you a story, but it quickly loses its structure, and the meandering begins. Not that that’s a bad thing. There’s a beginning, middle and end, but the details he adds generally tell you more about the storyteller than the story. 

Chris is an incredibly warm, friendly performer with a lot of understated punchlines, and funny bits sprinkled about the entire show. The showtime is a bit early, and the hazy, noon crowd probably didn’t bite on everything he threw out for them, but that’s their fault that they missed it.

It’s a nice way to spend an hour, even if he’s re-visiting the common fringe topics of aging, mental health, and coping with where your life is going. His focus isn’t new, but his approach to it is personal enough that it doesn’t much matter.

The show is a casual walk through a guy’s current mental state. I like the guy. I like him a lot. And he sure knows how to rock a cape.

Chris Cantrill: Easily Swayed
Monkey Barrel Comedy, The Tron
12.10
Aug 9-11, 14-25