‘Burnout Paradise’ review — running headfirst into, instead of away from, one's problems
Read our review of Burnout Paradise off Broadway, a New York-premiere show from Australian collective Pony Cam, now at St. Ann's Warehouse through December 1.
In a time of turbulence and political upheaval, Pony Cam, an Australian theatre collective now performing at St. Ann’s Warehouse, knows you still have to do your laundry. Whatever else is going on in the world, your taxes, your grocery list, your friend’s birthday party, and the daunting weight of your career obligations will still be there. Pony Cam is intimate with this balancing act of adult life; their show Burnout Paradise honors the act of running out of time to get everything done.
Over the course of 40 minutes, four members of Pony Cam (Claire Bird, William Strom, Dominic Weintraub, and Hugo Williams) demonstrate the balance of “survival,” “admin,” “performance,” and “leisure” in their lives. Their antics lead to expected hilarity — Strom performed much of the show I saw with shampoo on his head — as well as reflection: Can they get it all done before the clock runs out? Does it really matter if they miss a thing or two? Is the show more about proving to others that you can have it all, or proving it to yourself?
Burnout Paradise is a fun and quick evening at the theatre, and at first glance it does not hold enough water for cultural commentary. But as the Pony Cam members rated their individual levels of burnout, I found myself more invested in their self-assessment than in my own burnout. It was funny: I sat in the audience with my notebook, trying not to think too hard about thinking about the show before me, as I often must.
I’ve come to refer to shows I’m not reviewing as being “for fun, not for work.” This perhaps isn’t a healthy way of examining theatre, but it is reflective of my own work-life balance (or lack of it). Burnout Paradise was a refresher, with Pony Cam absorbing my own feelings of burnout as they raced toward the end of the show.
Burnout Paradise summary
Bird, Strom, Weintraub, and Williams endeavor to plan, cook, and serve a three-course meal to two audience members; write and submit a grant application for their theatre collective; perform pieces that show off each member’s artistic talents; and complete a not-so-leisurely to-do list of tasks they didn’t get to throughout the week, like “wax hair,” “eat fruit,” and “do a mud mask.” The four members rotate from one station to another every ten minutes and are aided by a fifth member (Ava Campbell) who times them, offers Gatorade to the audience, and keeps track of the group’s personal best mileage — because they’re all running on four treadmills the entire time.
If the Pony Cam members don’t serve the meal, submit the grant application, show off their performances, finish each task on the to-do list, and beat their personal best mileage, audience members are entitled to a refund. (At my performance, they said they’d failed 29 of 44 times performing the show.)
What to expect at Burnout Paradise
Burnout Paradise runs only 65 minutes, but it’s a jam-packed experience. Pony Cam asks for audience members to help them complete their to-do list tasks by bringing them props, playing bingo with them, and helping them pick up things they inevitably drop from their treadmills. Two audience members may also volunteer to eat the meal that Pony Cam attempts to cook (it did seem mostly edible).
There is a brief sequence of fog near the end of Burnout Paradise.
What audiences are saying about Burnout Paradise
Burnout Paradise has an audience approval rating of 83% on the review aggregator Show-Score.
- Show-Score user Michael 9209 called the show “chaotic and spontaneous in the best way.”
- Charlie Simmons of Melbourne’s Farrago Magazine positively reviewed Burnout Paradise’s run at Malthouse Theatre last summer, highlighting the audience participation element: “We all wanted to see them succeed in their tasks and cringed when things went wrong.”
- Another user, Elisa 9119, called Burnout Paradise a “quirky meta-play,” but cautioned that the show is “only for some people’s taste.”
Read more audience reviews of Burnout Paradise on Show-Score.
Who should see Burnout Paradise
- Fans of clowning performances, like Julia Masli’s recent ha ha ha ha ha ha ha, will enjoy Pony Cam’s physical comedy and far-fetched ambition.
- If you like audience participation, you will revel in Burnout Paradise. Conversely, if audience participation makes you uncomfortable, you may not have a good time at the show.
- If you enjoy the thrill of not knowing what will happen next, you will be on the edge of your seat at Burnout Paradise.
Learn more about Burnout Paradise off Broadway
Pony Cam ultimately undercuts their collective’s originality with an unnecessary post-script performance, but still, Burnout Paradise is one of the best nights out this fall.
Photo credit: Burnout Paradise off Broadway. (Photos by Teddy Wolff)
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