A cisgender, heterosexual autistic white guy with a beard has wowed commentators by having an Edinburgh Fringe show that people actually want to go and see on purpose, it has been claimed.
Do Zombies Dream of Undead Sheep? is performed by The Woodlouse, whose stage name conveniently sounds less white, cisgender, heterosexual and beardy than real name, John Butler.
Despite being described as a one-man, one-puppet musical journey through a zombie outbreak combining performance, puppetry and animation, and the fact that there’s quite a lot of singing, audiences have described it as “surprisingly not at all terrible”.
Punter Robert Noot, 37, commented: “I’d call it ridiculous, dark, gruesome, warm, funny and sad. For autistic audiences, there’s a whole album of the show’s music available to stream or download now, so you can learn the songs in advance and avoid any nasty surprises. Or pleasant surprises. Basically, we don’t like surprises.”
“In fact, most of the show is sung, so there’s no sudden shock of The Woodlouse bursting into song. Although I should warn people, he does tend to occasionally burst into speech.”
“I know people generally attend shows first and THEN buy the album, but I didn’t want to be the only chump not singing along to Grandma Ate My Uncle’s Brains,” Noot continued, before forking over a fistful of cash for the transparent blood-red vinyl double album The Woodlouse was selling to unsuspecting music nerds after the show.
Fellow audience member, Miya Wilkes, 30, said: “I’m not going to lie, I was nervous when I saw the beard – but it turns out that behind the beard was a cisgender, heterosexual white guy. But behind THAT guy was a very funny, original and weirdly heartwarming story. People have layers.”
The Woodlouse said: “The show will answer all your burning questions about a zombie apocalypse. Can the undead feel? Can the living understand? Is there a way out of this nightmare? Will you be forced – ultimately – to sing? Wait! Where are you all going?”
Do Zombies Dream of Undead Sheep? runs throughout August at the Edinburgh Fringe, Playground 1 at ZOO Playground at 21.30. Full-price tickets are £12, concessions are £11, with two-for-one offers on selected dates, and can be purchased here.
To make sure you’re not the only chump not singing along to the show, you can check out the full album here – and if you love it as much as we do, you can buy the exciting vinyl or less exciting CD in person after the show. Go and give The Woodlouse a big autistic Fringe welcome, and don’t forget to tell him The Daily Tism sent you.
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