Violators Will Be Violated
nytheatre.com review by Carissa Cordes
August 16, 2010
Violators Will be Violated is a virtually wordless one-man physical theatre experience that takes place through 18 vignettes presented on a set list in the program. Casey Smith has a manic energy verging on lunacy, but his pantomimes are actually incredibly precise, set to a soundtrack any rock fan would appreciate.
His energy keeps him in the realm of clown and keeps his sketches out of reality, thankfully. He engages with his audience, expecting them to participate in his sketches, and succeeds in creating a visceral reaction in this incredibly dark and raunchy comedy, yet he uses no props except a glass of water or a chair and despite the mimed raunchiness, he does not remove any actual clothing.
His sketches can be incredibly macabre like "Rebel Without a Pulse," when his Catholic Mass-attending motorcycle rider gets hit by a car and run over like road kill, or "The One Last Die" in which his character attempts every possible way to commit suicide that he can think of, only to succeed momentarily. Some of his sketches are very raunchy, humping stools and imaginary body parts as in "Charlie Hughs" or "Kung Fu Sissy" or "Pogosexual," in which he cuts his mouth wider to take on a blow job. This is not a show I would have necessarily chosen to see on my own, but I am glad I did. Casey Smith is an admirable physical performer.
This may not be an original clown that Smith has created, but it is a clown that makes us laugh at the inappropriate, the squeamish, the tragedies and heartbreaks of living.
I don’t think this show is for everyone, but anyone who can laugh at clowns dying, bleeding, barfing, or farting should have a wild ride.
