Philosophy of the World is bonkers good.
Easy to say, “This play is amazing! No spoilers — go see it for yourself.”
But this performance, and its performers — Nora Alexander, Dora Lynn and Kat Cory — as well as Nigel Barrett — deserve four-hundred words. On the surface, the piece is a three-act play that’s scripted as a musical biopic of a band called The Shaggs, who produced an album titled Philosophy of the World.
The Shaggs were a three-sister band formed in the mid-1960s in New Hampshire. They were driven by their father hard to succeed but they didn’t succeed but then they did, eventually becoming a cult sensation.
According to hipster godfather Frank Zappa, they were “better than the Beatles,” and Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain called The Shags “a major influence.”
But this play is and is not about The Shaggs; the piece is an onion. And once you start peeling off the layers, it might stink, might make your eyes tear up, but it encapsulates a very clear philosophy of the world.
Work hard. Fail till you succeed. Don’t give up. Rise up in a world without entitlement at a time when it’s harder than ever without nepotism. The play is about feminism and the patriarchy, and father-daughter relationships, and how layered they are. It’s about discipline and structure without structure, structure in chaos. And it’s 100% a cutthroat examination of just how insane it is to be alive in the year 2025.
Yet the production still has a historical lens that seems very relevant and refreshing.
Philosophy of the World Crushes at Fringe
This play is not for everybody. It is experimental and violent and loud and bloody! But if you are open to enjoying the beauty that theater can give you, this play is pure art. And it’s punk rock as hell!
These performers literally bleed on stage every night.
The Third Act of Philosophy of the World is a wicked murder board that will slay you.
This play deserves to get picked up and put Off-Broadway.
Four days into Fringe, it’s about a mile better than anything we’ve seen so far.
