A Sexy Pigeon Show

The Lighter Touch Art Collective—RRC Polytech

Some good news and some bad news. The good news is that Colum the pigeon is adorable and charismatic, excellent qualities for trying to win over the entire human race with a big debut show at the fountain. The bad news is that, for all this pigeon knows about humans, Colum has forgotten one of the oldest human marketing principles: sex sells.

That’s not to say that the expectant pigeon-mama isn’t fun or engaging, but for a show titled ‘Sexy,’ with a preamble that assures the audience it is acceptable to hoot and holler during a burlesque performance, it is a bit disappointing that the sole pigeon strip tease is just a very brief opening number. What follows is instead an engaging hour of delightfully pigeon-esque crowd work, with Colum charming audience members through earnest attempts to understand and impress humanity.

While compelling, poor Colum’s inferiority complex that takes up the bulk of the show highlights just how fleeting the most outstanding bits are. Ironically, the recurring question of being good enough sometimes overshadows the performance’s strongest elements such as the wonderful bird physicality and pidgeony showtune finale, that really are outstanding. Colum may not be the sultriest pigeon at the Fringe, but is certainly one of its most lovable.

Ashley Frantik