Brain Machine
★★★★★
Andrew Bailey’s solo show is about the fascinating (and little-known) people and stories behind the creation of the internet — and much more. It’s also about how he accidentally went viral, and how the web has the power to connect — or destroy — all of us.
That he’s able to tie all of this more or less seamlessly together is one of the things that makes Brain Machine so remarkable. That he’s able to bring something fresh to the well-hashed “interwebs might be good, might be bad” theme may be even more remarkable.
Much of this comes down to Bailey’s skill as a storyteller. He’s got the timing of a seasoned standup and a scriptwriter’s sense of when to reveal information — particularly a bombshell he drops well into the play.
It’s personal, it’s smart and it’s also very funny. Check it out. Your brain will thank you.
—Reviewed by Joff Schmidt
If this show were a Facebook post, it would qualify as one of the “clickbait think pieces” whose online prevalence Andrew Bailey laments (or maybe just observes) in this monologue.
That’s not an insult: Brain Machine is fascinating, informative, personal, and relevant.
Bailey subtly, skillfully braids the stories of the Internet’s inventors with his own experience of going viral; both his writing and his delivery are informed by his standup comedy skills. Example: “I hate things that are noisy and distracting, but I moved to Toronto anyway.” Go, learn, laugh, take hope.-Reviewed by Kathleen Oliver
Brain Machine
★★★★
There should be an official fringe term for the kind of one-man storytelling show where seemingly disparate threads come together neatly at the end to make a sharp and satisfying point — the Martin Dockery / TJ Dawe / Rob Gee thing.
In the case of Vancouver’s Andrew Bailey, those threads follow the unheralded inventors of the internet and Bailey’s own technophobic experience going viral, with a little #metoo woven in. Bailey is nebbishy, fast-talking, insightful and droll, making both the personal bits and the history lessons captivating.
And, if you’re worried, as I was, that this is yet another hot take on how Snapchat and #FakeNews and trolls have doomed humanity, fear not — Bailey’s sharp and satisfying point about our connected world is much more hopeful.
-Reviewed by Mary Agnes Welch
Looking for a Fringe show that uses the word hagiography? Bingo.
In Brain Machine, solo artist Andrew Bailey explores connections and opportunities—mostly missed. Its historical thread is about the Internet: its potential and its degradation. Its more personal thread is about Bailey’s relationships and work.
There’s substantial material here. Bailey expresses his anger at feminists who diminish the suffering of men, including the suffering caused by being sexually assaulted. (“Twenty years later, on a bad day, sometimes I still shake.”)
And a lot of the show is very funny. Bailey is a master of reversal: “When I was 17, I felt disconnected and alone…unlike other 17-year-olds.” And he gets a laugh out of hagiography.
Bailey is confident, charming, a pro. This is the premiere of Brain Machine. Go see it.
–Reviewed by Colin Thomas