Toronto Fringe Review: Prude

Lou Campbell. Photo by Stevey Hunter

Shots by LMFAO plays on blast, fists pound the air, dancing until you can dance no more - this is the energy that performer Lou Campbell strikes the stage with in their one-person show, Prude, with Probably Theatre Collective. They bring the party to an audience, demanding cheers and applause. Campbell lights the stage, the character of a wild party animal dousing themself in alcohol and sex. 

They bring the environment of many drunken nights to an audience as the sound, designed by Peter Salty, twists and turns, dropping its base, becoming audibly eerie. It’s slow to a visceral pace that matches Campbell onstage as they fall into their party-like state. 

Fun and laughter combined with mystery befall the audience. Charming in their boisterous habitat yet cryptic in their intention; Campbell brings wit and humour, but posits questions to the audience about sex and polygamy, eliciting unhappiness with their lifestyle. 

Campbell is battling themself internally, and initially the comedy is brought by a surface-level display of crazy popularity. We laugh with who Campbell isn’t and applaud in our chairs to their humorous performance. Once they undergo the challenge of determining how they really feel about sex, we see a shift in the comedy. 

It becomes friendly and calm. The comedic arc that takes place coincides with the character arc, and it was really quite a beautiful thing. As Campbell comes to terms with their asexuality, the comedy comes to a soft heartbeat rather than an overpowering display of fun.

Unlike anything I’ve seen before, strong in its message and delivery, humorous and exuberant, Lou Campbell’s Prude is a mystifying piece born for the stage.

Prude is on now until July 14 as part of the 2022 Toronto Fringe Festival.
Find show times and tickets here.