Part motorboat, part woman, Mel McGlensey takes us on board for a nutty and rip-roaring adventure. The storyline features Motorboat yearning to break free from the dock where she is ‘protected’ by Captain Daddy and experience the ‘big blue’. And this story is the perfect vehicle to showcase the wonderful clowning of Mel McGlensey.

There’s slapstick, zany voices, farcical facial expressions and ridiculous dance moves. Wackiness par excellence! But clowning isn’t just madcap silliness, and Mel brings so much more with her writing talent, her stand-up experience, and her improv skills, which all help to create the feast of fun that is Motorboat. Mel McGlensey is brave and generous and is so clearly having a great time that it’s infectious.

The performance also features Conk Dariol, who voices Captain Daddy and mans the sound deck, making key contributions to the story but also occasionally teasing Mel with the timing of his interjections. The show is directed by Sharnema Nougar. There is plenty of audience participation, and Mel gets everyone involved with deft assurance. But don’t be anxious—it is clear from the outset that Mel focuses on the enjoyment from joining in the fun and, once things are bobbing along, almost everyone is cautiously calling out, “Pick me, pick me!”

Of course, ‘motorboating’ has another (surprising) meaning, which you may have to consult the Urban Dictionary to understand, but Mel’s ‘personal assets’ and comportment are certainly well-suited for that alternative activity. And this undercurrent of double entendre and innuendo continues throughout the show, giving Mel ample opportunity for lovable cheekiness.

Motorboat climaxes with a wonderful storm on the high seas. I love the way Mel gets (and gives) so much pleasure in this sequence. Mel McGlensey is MOTORBOAT certainly floats my boat. It is naughty and nautical, it’s absurd, it’s weird, and it’s what FRINGE WORLD is all about.

Deliciously daft.