Exit, Pursued by a Bear seems to take its title fairly literally. (Photo courtesy of Capital Fringe)

Reminds us of: Thelma and Louise through a madcap absurdist lens.

Flop, Fine or Fringe-tastic?: Fine.

Let’s get this out of the way first: Exit, Pursued By a Bear has very little to do with Shakespeare. It’s a thoroughly modern story, in fact: Nan the southern housewife ties her abusive husband Kyle to a chair with duct tape and, with the help of her friends Shane and Sweetheart, threatens to surround him with raw meat in an effort to attract bears to maul him.

The show does take influence from Shakespeare in its sense of meta-theatricality. Stage directions are projected on a screen behind the players, who break into frequent scenes-within-scenes to fill in Nan’s backstory. It makes for a frenetically absurd first act buoyed by some raucously funny performances (special mention to Moriamo Akibu as the no-nonsense Sweetheart). But by the halfway mark the energy dissipates somewhat as the meta-theatrical breakdowns get less frequent. Sometimes the show doesn’t seem sure whether it wants to demolish the fourth wall entirely or just break a hole and peep through it occasionally. The former would have been preferable, but the latter still makes for an enjoyably silly piece of revenge comedy.

Where to See It: Atlas Performing Arts Center, Lab II on July 13 at 7:30 p.m., July 18 at 7:30 p.m., July 19 at 5:15 p.m. and July 22 at 2:00 p.m. Buy tickets here.

See here for all of DCist’s 2017 Capital Fringe coverage. All shows are $17, with a button ($7) required for entry.