Money talks in this fool’s paradise
Fool’s Gold
Zoo Playground (Venue 186) until 27 August
At first glance, it’s hard to take Saskia Solomons seriously. Dressed as a fool (a subgenre of clowning), with a golden unitard stretched over a huge fake stomach and a crown perched on her head, she is immediately comical. But while Fool’s Gold gives us much to laugh about, Solomons is also here to tackle a serious subject head on: money. Who has it, who doesn’t have it, and how as a nation we might go about shifting the economic landscape into more equitable terrain.
Despite this being a solo show, we meet more than one fool. Our main host is an exuberant extrovert with a wide grin, glorying in her moment in the spotlight. To her left there’s a sceptic, scowling in disapproval and ready to throw scorn on any overt enthusiasm. To her right there’s the human equivalent of a panic attack, face fixed in abject horror at the prospect of attention. And finally, there’s the fool to end all fools, bouncing around the stage, arms flailing, with a devilish glint in their eye.
All four are, of course, Solomons putting her Lecoqbased training to fine use. Stepping from side to side, she embodies them all.
Engaging with the crowd throughout, the fool-inchief (the smiley one) uses golden ping pong balls to illustrate the wealth of the nation. Then hits us with alarming facts, such as the 50 richest families in the UK own more than the combined wealth of half of the UK population.
There’s also a fun game of bingo as we look at the various ways cross-party groups have attempted to reduce this enormous disparity. All the while, the clowning prowess of Solomons and her endless supply of hilarious facial expressions keep us highly entertained. Especially when the naughtiest fool of all comes up with the perfect solution for wealth redistribution.