FringeNYC 2013: Infallibility

Review by Jason Jacobs · August 14, 2013

Did you hear the one about the dead Pope who was exhumed and put on trial by his successor?  No, that’s not a joke set-up.  I myself had never heard of the Cadaver Synod of 897, but to be honest, my knowledge of papacy scandals circa 9th-century is sketchy at best. 

Providentially, after seeing Matthew Barbot’s clever and whimsical Infallibility, I can now speak with (some) authority on this incident.  And, thanks to the comedic strengths of this production, I had great fun learning about it. 

In commedia style, the two-person romp explores Pope Stephen VII’s prosecution and posthumous nullification of the papacy of his predecessor, Pope Formosus.  First, a prologue introduces Genesius, the patron saint of actors, clowns, and lawyers (!), played with madcap gusto by Cody Magouirk.  Next, we meet Carlo, a hapless actor played as a sad but sweet clown by Rory Keane.  Imprisoned in Rome and sentenced to die because of his involvement in the trial, Carlo invokes Genesius to help him re-enact the events leading to his fate.  Genesius provides a trunk filled with masks and props, and meta-theatrically organizes Carlo’s tale into a traditional albeit accelerated, 5-act play.  Act One opens on the not-so-talented Carlo playing small parts in the provinces and praying for his big break, when presto: enter a sinister Roman Bishop (played by Genesius), offering Carlo a major gig in Rome. Carlo meets the rabid Pope Stephen (Genesius again) who hires him to play the voice of Formosus and share the stage with the deceased Pope’s corpse in the upcoming trial.  Despite misgivings, Carlo’s fatal flaw—his ambition—drives him to accept the role.  With Genesius’s unfailing collaboration, our hero goes through three more acts of rising action (conflict/complication/crisis) before arriving at his moment of truth and facing death

Jumping off from this bizarre chapter of history, Barbot juggles Catholic dogma, dramatic theory, and comic shtick with dexterity.  He is well served by the terrific chemistry of his performing duo. With mercurial physicality and astute mask work, Magouirk revels as a merry prankster—the perfect foil to Keane’s baby-faced, ever sympathetic sad sack.  From go, you sense these actors are in command and ready to show us a good time. Director Kelly Johnston keeps the laughs coming and the action moving, creating a rich commedia del’arte world on an empty stage, with the help of Andrew Diaz’s perfectly designed props. 

At the end of a hilarious hour, I appreciated learning about the Cadaver Synod and inferred that Barbot may want us to contemplate whether we can ever know if there is a divine plan driving our lives.  Genesius constantly reminds Carlo that “God has an unknowable plan for us,” and Barbot’s dramaturgy hints at an invisible master-plot, in which every person and event has a larger purpose.  I can’t know if this play will be any less ephemeral than its ill-fated hero, but I am certain that while it lives, it is a pleasure to enjoy.