In The Accident, Aussie Jonno Katz constructs a refreshingly honest tale of two brothers who are as different as video games and bananas. Sebastian dreams and Roy does, and their personality conflict explodes when they reach a turning point in their lives. Katz's performance deserves special praise for wedding abstract movement-based ideas to solid, recognizable characters. If you have a sibling, and especially if you just freaking hate them sometimes, you'll love this show. (FFFF 1/2)

Brett Hooton, The Hour

I had heard some sizzling buzz about this piece so I was looking forward to balancing out my day with a second good show. I was rewarded, in spades.

The Accident is a one man comedy, dance and theatre piece, that tells the story of one young man’s coming to terms with his relationship with his brother. Jonno Katz’s performance absolutely out-of-this-world amazing, playing three characters simultaneously–sensitive conceptual artist Sebastian, his asshole older brother marketing exec Roy, and Roy’s emotionally volatile girlfriend, whose name escapes me for the moment. Jonno is a gifted physical performer, brilliantly miming mundane activities like grooming and eating and bringing them to superb life, switching between three very different characters seamlessly, and adding spot on sound effects of the machinations of daily life.

This piece takes the shape of Sebastian’s coming of age story, as he concurrently tries to deal with the reverberations of growing up without parents (for some mysterious reason which is revealed later on) and being raised by older brother Roy. Sebastian is one of those human statue mimes, who dreams of creating a grand conceptual art piece: a giant shit machine which consumes food and produces real human-style shit. (a machine which actually exists and was on display here in town not too long ago, in fact). But he needs Roy’s financial backing to making the plan fly. Add to that the two brothers’ relationship to Roy’s girlfriend, and the reverberations begin to deepen and take on new and surprising textures.

The most remarkable thing about The Accident is Katz’s ability to protray the full gamut of human nuance in sight, sound and motion. The range of facial expressions he uses for each character make them tangible and real. The little sound effects he employs–for pouring and drinking champagne, for example, or skipping a stone on a pond, or a dog running by in the park–highlight the delicacies of sensual awareness. Most striking, perhaps, is his interweaving of dance and miming, creating a universe of frenzied movement and activity.

The Accident is laugh-out-loud funny and wonderfully well-put together. Katz’s tour-de-force performance makes The Accident without a doubt the best thing I’ve seen at this year’s fringe so far. Stunning.

After seeing The Accident, I felt incapable of rushing off to another venue to see another show right away. I needed time to sit and absorb what I had just seen. I bailed on the last leg of my four-play relay race, preferring to sit under the cloudy sky and sip unassumingly on an apricot beer. That night I biked down to the pont Jacques-Cartier with some friends to watch the fireworks blow the night sky into oblivion. The violent exchange of light and darkness made a whole lot of sense.

Iceman, Indyish.com

Jonno Katz returns to the Montreal Fringe with The Accident, a one-man show which is at times funny, charming and intense. Katz slips in and out of dance and dialogue, weaving the very interesting tale of two brothers with very different personalities. The story is engrossing and Katz’ movements hypnotic. The comedy comes at all the right times.

At one point, there is an intense scene with 3 people in the room. Katz switches between 2 of the characters, back and forth, back and forth, with all the tension being generated by the third person’s unrevealed reaction. It was quite cool.

Spoiler alert: Had Katz heard about this, I wonder? Life imitates art, or vice versa?

Recommended!

b.j.Swank, withoutannette.net

En revanche si l'on se penche par curiosité du bord de ceux qui ne réclament pas le logo chorégraphique, on risque de tomber le nez sur de surprenants petits bijoux. Ainsi The accident, retraçant la trajectoire turbulente de deux frangins, l'un meneur persifleur qui n'accepte pas l'attaque faite à sa virilité, l'autre doux rêveur frêle et inventif qui suit jusque là mais que la vie mènera - peut-être - à se tenir droit. Cela débute par des rondes ensorcellantes et essoufflées sur un fond sonore enchaîné et hypnotisant aux relens de "Requiem for a dream" (cordes tourbillonnantes) évoquant le syphon de vie dans lequel nos deux compagnons se trouvent pris. S'ensuit un ballet de gestes quotidiens qui frisent l'art du mime dans la précision, mais jonglent aussi avec l'impression et le suggéré de l'attitude. Au summum, une salsa captivante où le soliste Jonno Katz distingue avec talent et humour la sensiblerie soûle d'Emile, molle et caline, et la concentration un peu rigide et mal-habituée de Sebastian. Un rêvasseur, un équilibriste sur le fil de l'imaginaire ce misteur Katz séduit par sa finesse de pensée, la réserve de ses sentiments, ses tableaux de vie plutôt ironique et pas facile... et ses accents terriblement australiens.

Marion Gerbier, Voir.ca

http://zekeontheair.blogspot.com/2009/06/zekes-alternate-art-discussion-about.html

Radio Review by Zeke

Montreal Buzz Comments:

accident nothing - pure, frenetic genius

Anything but an Accident

The Accident is a Jewel!

Pleasantly surprised!