Anyone who scoffs that consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds has obviously never attended a fringe festival. The most maddening aspect of such affairs can be the radically fluctuating quality. Simply consider, to begin with, the gap in polish between two martial-themed offerings in this year's Capital Fringe lineup: "7 (x 1) Samurai" and "The Girl in the Iron Mask."

The former is David Gaines's wily one-man spoof of Akira Kurosawa's movie "Seven Samurai" -- and it qualifies as a find. Dressed in a black kimono, his face painted white, the writer-performer scurries through a madcap, prop-free, almost wordless 45-minute version of the film, distinguishing between characters while lampooning them all, and supplying innumerable whizzing, thwacking sound effects.

Gaines is trained in mime, and he suggests settings, weaponry and other narrative essentials with the odd arm or hand movement, while his taut comic timing wrings humor from the skirmishes between warriors, bandits and peasants. For the most part, the production, at the Shop at Fort Fringe, is clear and droll enough to entertain viewers who haven't brushed up on their Kurosawa.

Hip Shot: ‘7(x1) Samurai’

Posted by Trey Graham on Jul. 12, 2008, at 7:01 pm

7(x1) Samurai

Remaining Performances:
Saturday, July 19 @ 8 PM
Sunday, July 20 @ 2:15 PM
Thursday, July 24 @ 10 PM
Saturday, July 26 @ 1 PM
Sunday, July 27 @ 7 PM

"They say: “Kurosawa’s epic tale of victimized peasants, marauding bandits, and samurai warriors - retold at breakneck pace, through movement, by one exhausted and ridiculous actor. With accompanying gibberish and vocal sound effects.”

Trey’s take: Best 45 minutes of my Fringe so far. Don’t be intimidated by the Kurosawa name-check — or by the fact that this guy’s a highly trained mime.

Solo artist David Gaines tarts up the tale of The Seven Samurai with decidedly American pop-culture tropes ranging from action-flick fight sequences to Looney Tunes cartoons — I think there’s even a nod in the direction of the Samurai homage The Magnificent Seven — using those instantly recognizable vocabularies to help tell the story almost entirely without words.

And Gaines is as deft as anyone I’ve ever seen at the efficient definition of character: A gesture, a posture, a shambling shrug, or a katana-sheathing shhhhwwwt sound, and you see the archer, the sleepy swordsman, the giant or the klutzy apprentice samurai. By the time the show culminates in an epic one-man rendition of a full-tilt defend-the-village free-for-all, the illusion is total: One guy, a couple of masks, and a white backdrop, and a roiling battle against the landscape of feudal Japan has unfolded in your mind’s eye.

See it if: You grok that, far from being an outdated discipline to sneer at, the rich nonverbal language that is mime informs contemporary entertainments from Broadway’s Lion King to Pixar’s Wall-E.

Skip it if: You’ve got better things to do than be charmed by a witty concept and a first-rate performer."

"7 (x 1) Samurai" also got accolades in the July 3rd Fringe & Purge, when Brian Reed of the City Paper wrote,

"Mr. Gaines may hawk his show as “An Epic Tale…told by an idiot,” but during the 7 minutes I witnessed last night, it became uproariously clear that this man is no idiot. Dressed as part street-pantomime part Japanese warrior, Gaines was riveting as he moved seamlessly among his manifold nonspeaking characters. This is serious, sidesplitting, mesmerizing stuff, and to see one man sustain it for 45 minutes is a feat I refuse to miss."

Looking to hit the road with "7 x 1 Samurai" - hopefully showing in a town near you soon.

7 ( x 1) Samurai

"7 (x 1) Samurai" at the Fringe!

The show won Best Solo Performance in the Pick of the Fringe awards for the 2008 Washington Fringe Festival.

Capital Fringe Festival

You'll Find Some Points Are Sharper Than Others

'Samurai' Spoof Is A Cut Above the Rest

Hip Shot: ‘7(x1) Samurai’