Venue: Puppy Sphere, The Burroughes Building, 639 Queen St W
Remaining showtimes: July 10, 11, 13 (9 pm, see Fringe site for more info)
After 25 years at the same job, Mr. Zero is laid off because of automation, driving him into a vengeful fury. This sends him tumbling into court and then to some kind of afterlife where a workplace flirtation and his marriage both implode, along with just about everything else.
Leroy Rice’s script, lightly-adapted by Alice Lundy and Guillermo Verdecchia, is from 1923, when the adding machine (a mechanical calculator) was replacing jobs. The plot could just as easily repeat today with AI and other automations. It’s stylized to look like an old-timey film, but doesn’t feel dated at all.
Actors Tim Walker, Jen McEwen, Dani Zimmer, Jamar Adams-Thompson and Breanna Dillion do an amazing job together, bringing playful energy and nuance, prompting many laughs at the absurdities.
There is no shortage of interesting moments and ideas, though the pacing drags a little towards the end. Overall, The Adding Machine is a treat.
Only the show on the 13th still has tickets available, and they’re going fast!