Ottawa fringe: Stick or Wizard? Child’s play, but in a good way..

Giddily tiptoeing about the room in a sequin unitard and matching headpiece, a peculiar Englishman asks, “Is there a wizard in the room?”. This is the question which Oli Weatherly, Gaulier-trained clown and the show’s creator, seeks to answer each time he performs this highly absurd and much enchanting one-man piece.

Fittingly marketed as a “hilarious waste of time” and “pure idiocy”, Stick or Wizard?, largely fuelled by audience participation, never quite seems to know exactly where it is going to end up. And this, according to Weatherly, and to the audience’s delight, is precisely how the magic of the show comes about.

As he weaves himself through the audience in his distinctly charming and sprightly fashion, mirrored, of course, by the glimmering jumpsuit, posing questions here and there, our wizard carries with him a bag of bits and bobs which, like the small chest of drawers that sits on stage, he lets audience members reach into and pull various items out of. However, these objects are meant to carry more weight than the artist’s steady bantering or madcap dance break (a real treat, I might add). Each object—unveiled as tiny mementos drawn from Weatherly’s own life—comes with a lesson, a dash of simple wisdom to slip into your back pocket for later; perhaps to be used during desperate times, to dispense to a friend in need, or when you’ve lost sight of your own wizardry.

I liken Weatherly’s performance to a young child who has just come upon a bin of retired dance recital costumes and proceeds to stage an impromptu living room spectacle. What ensues is equal parts amateur magic show and Monty Python sketch. There is a certain beauty to this exhibition of artistic freedom, this strange, imaginative romp, and Weatherly’s childlike wonder is undeniably contagious.

Stick or Wizard? is a funny little show, indeed, and the manner in which Weatherly’s moments of lucidity and bite-sized truths reverberate throughout the room is worth witnessing. I wouldn’t miss this unlikely gem.

Stick or Wizard? continues until June 22 as part of the Ottawa Fringe Festival. For more information and tickets, see https://ottawafringe.com/shows/stick-or-wizard/.