Fringe review: The Routine
The Routine evokes the classic practitioners of mime to tackle the mundane, as Canadian artist Joylyn Secunda seeks to revive a long-parodied art form. ★★★½
This year there is somewhat of a revival of the Silent Era and vaudeville at the Adelaide Fringe. Alongside Smile: The Story of Charlie Chaplin, or the multiple clown shows that form a significant part of the theatre program, The Routine features a finely tuned mime performance centred around what we fill most of our lives with: work.
Canadian performer and creator Joylyn Secunda is a newcomer to Adelaide, but one that brings with them a diverse background in mime, theatre and clown. Here though, Secunda presents a focused offering, channelling Marceau or Tati as they silently depict a suited salaryman facing the perils of daily life. Secunda scores the piece with music which gives it a useful context and rhythm, though at times the choices are so recognisable they start to overshadow the performer’s creation of meaning.
Secunda’s character discovers an alternative reality in The Routine’s second half through their bathroom mirror, and with this turn starts to open up to more of a dream logic. Throughout both the mundane and the fantastical, they present a delightful precision with every second of movement, and there isn’t a hint of irony, as is more common when mime usually appears in contemporary performance.
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Secunda is a joy to watch, and their reverence for the art form makes for engaging theatre. Before Lecoq or Gaulier, there were Marceau, Chaplin, and Tati, and before them there was Grimaldi and the pantomime; Secunda is thus evoking an earlier, distilled tradition of physical performer that utilises their body as their whole instrument for the purposes of art. The focused, soundproofed setting at the Goodwood Studio allows us to fully appreciate the performer’s skill and intricate detail, rather than the more ad-hoc venues at the East End.
It may not produce seismic laughter, but The Routine is a highly appreciated contribution to the Fringe this year as demonstrating a compelling art form. Standing in contrast to more raucous, explicit one-person shows under the banner of ‘clown’, The Routine leaves us contemplating our daily lives and asks us if there might be something more; perhaps though, all we need to do is look in the mirror.
The Routine continues at Goodwood Theatres until March 23
Read more 2025 Adelaide Fringe coverage here on InReview