Smack in the center of the Baldacchino Gypsy Tent Bar sits a vibrant shock of color. A bright yellow skirt pinned with garlands of bright flowers, vines, and stems of cherries. A headdress made up of the same frames a round face painted ghostly white with rosy cheeks and deep red lipstick. Japanese performer Yanomi is a sight to behold as she holds court, fresh off her opening performance of the 2013 Capital Fringe Festival, standing out in full Miss Hiccup gear. The glimpse of her reminds me that DCist didn’t catch the acclaimed A Day in the Life of Miss Hiccup at the festival last year, so its return performance is ripe for a viewing.
Yanomi is a master of timing, sound, and movement. Her Miss Hiccup, a bit of a clown who lives alone and loves being silly, communicates entirely through sound. When she tries to speak briefly to wish her audience a good morning, a fit of hiccups overtake her words. Despite a lack of language, her persona instantly connects with the audience, and draws engaged smiles and laughs the whole way through.
When she cries tears of marbles, as the small wonders she just took delight in betray her, you’re heartbroken with her. She’s just so utterly likable that it hurts to see her sad. She spends time in extremes, frantically keeping a beat while brushing her teeth, screeching like a hyaena, carrying a tune like an opera singer, and conducting an orchestra with her head as the cymbals. Following the laughs and smiles, her crying—a lullaby composed by Shunji Nakamachi of “wah wah wahs” and nothing else—is alluring, haunting, enchanting. Her cries bring her from the whimsical creature she becomes back to the frail, hiccuping lady she is when she begins her morning. It’s beautiful.
A Day in the Life of Miss Hiccup has been around since 2010 and is in a bit of a Fringe groove. Yanomi and her production company Shoshinz, which means “shy timid people” in Japanese, has toured Miss Hiccup at festivals across Canada, in New York and in Orlando. Last year, the show won Capital Fringe’s Director’s Award, “given to a group or an individual artist that took a risk, tried new things, was honest and had a good artistic product.” The platitude comes with waived entry fees for the following year’s festival which meant we got Yanomi for a second year in a row, and she’s continuing to play for packed houses. Hopefully we will have the chance to see what else this talented artist can create, for either Miss Hiccup or a new act. For now, Shoshinz has an act that has proven it has legs, anyone can take joy in, and that I would be happy seeing again.
Remaining performances:
Tuesday, July 23, 8:15 p.m.
Thursday, July 25, 8:30 p.m.
Saturday, July 27, 8:30 p.m.
Sunday, July 28, 2 p.m.
At Fort Fringe – Bedroom, 612 L Street NW
Get tickets here.
