Oliver Mol’s story of a ten-month migraine is so deeply immersive that it is, at times, uncomfortable. For anyone who has every experienced enduring pain, Mol’s interpretation of a migraine via storytelling and stage production feels very true to reality.
This 60-minute one-man show one-man show is a true, funny and heartbreaking tale about Oliver Mol’s chronic migraine, his departure from his work as a writer, and subsequent job on the railway when he couldn’t do anything else. Performed to music and visuals, it is a story of hope, laughter, pain, relationships, drugs, failed orgies, mothers, fathers and love.
Oliver Mol is such a regular sort of guy at first impression, that the depth he went to took me by surprise. His daggy “costume” of running shoes, baggy pants and white singlet tucked into his belt was a stark contrast to his eloquent storytelling and engaging performance.
Clever visuals projected to a screen behind Mol, and he used the small stage to good effect – often blending himself into the projection. This was particularly effective during the scenes depicting migraines, which built tension, and the scenes that took the audience on a ride along train tracks, which released the tension.
Often when we experience theatre, we feel heightened emotions of joy and pathos, but rarely – for myself, anyway – do I feel physical discomfort. To me, this is the genius of the show: the build up of discomfort… the suspended tension… and the release of pain, the release of one’s identity into a new, changed world.
Mol’s 2020 Fringe season has ended, but look out for his book of the same name in the near future.
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Tickets: https://adelaidefringe.com.au/fringetix/train-lord-af2020
Content Warning: M
Official Website: https://www.instagram.com/train_lord/
Performance reviewed: 6pm Wednesday 26th February at The Bakehouse Theatre