Among the Fringe's storytellers and anecdote-pedlars, Texan Terry Galloway's unique selling point is that she is deaf and vision-impaired. This makes it difficult for her to "work" an audience, but ensures an individualistic world-view. Her stage persona is at first endearing, so open and direct that one forgives her self-conscious zaniness. As her tenuously linked chain of tales progresses, however, it becomes apparent that Galloway's grins and gimmicks are a mask. She reveals a deep fear of the world at large, which she can only overcome through art. But the more intensely she tries to communicate her feelings, the more she alienates herself. Galloway is clearly a talented and extraordinary person, but she just doesn't package well for mass consumption.
Written for The Independent.
Copyright © Ian Shuttleworth; all rights reserved.
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