In the title role of this surrealistic revenge tale, Charlotte Barton-Hoare is gussied up like a Goth chick and given to bulging eyes and melodramatic poses out of a penny dreadful. As a counselor to the mentally ill, Creena DeFoouie is mad in two senses of the word — in that she's insane and that her beloved sister is dead. Who killed her and why is what drives her nuts — and us too.
Barton-Hoare's brother, James Hoare, plays a few roles, the most important being Superintendent Hardon. Dressed like a bobby but for a pair of tights not at all concealing a monstrously engorged phallus, he pays frequent visits to DeFoouie's lair to investigate a series of mysterious deaths at her institution. At other times, Hoare plays one of her patients (afflicted with a catastrophic set of very British buck teeth) and a talented singing hayseed.
If you're suspecting this play sounds like a collection of loose vignettes, you're right, though it doesn't lack entertainment value. The musical numbers are choreographed hilariously by Haruka Kuroda, and it's impressive how both performers, who are from the U.K., wrest humor from the ridiculousness of the enterprise. Unfortunately, the narrative is too fragmented for theatregoers to follow; they either have to be diverted by Barton-Hoare's facial tics and Hoare's bouncy physicality or wait to enjoy the dildo duel at the end of the show.
Presented by Ruby Bloomsbury Theatre as part of the New York International Fringe Festival at the Studio at Cherry Lane, 38 Commerce St., NYC. Aug. 13-23. Remaining performances: Fri., Aug. 15, 5 p.m.; Sun., Aug. 17, 6:45 p.m.; Wed., Aug. 20, 9:30 p.m.; Sat., Aug. 23, 3 p.m. (212) 279-4488 or (866) 468-7619 or www.fringenyc.org.