Beowulf
The Fringe Encores Series brought shows from seven English-language fringe festivals this year and presented them at the Soho Playhouse here in New York. One was a two-man production of an play called Beowulf from the Limerick Festival. Sam Gibbs and Peter Buffery call comprise Autojeu Theater, and they come from London. The act is a riff on the Old English poem. Beowulf is the sort of enjoyable, inconsequential theater we expect from fringe theater. It clocks in at a little over an hour, and it’s nearly a monologue by Mr. Gibbs. Mr. Buffery play the keys on stage; he never speaks, but he has an onstage life when called upon, and part of the fun is seeing Mr. Gibbs relate to him occasionally. He sings a couple of nice songs in an appealing voice, and provides us with all sort of nice, silly sounds. Mr. Gibbs, a bearded, burly guy, plays 14 roles, primarily a macho, blustering Beowulf. “I am Beowulf’ he bellows several times. His bombast, of course, is constantly triviali...