EdFringe Review: Worm Teeth

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SMAK Productions and Paradise Green bring us the strange and wonderful play Worm Teeth, written by Kelsey Sullivan. Worm Teeth features unexpected characters and absurdist characterisations and motivations, managing to be both endearing and unsettling at the same time—in the very best way.

The immersive experience begins before you even enter the room—you’re asked to become a forest animal. This clever setup allows the actors to seamlessly pull the audience into the play, “maybe this nice squirrel will help you?”—it’s delightful.

Sullivan’s writing stands out for its playful use of onomatopoeia and tactile language, creating a sensory experience that is both delightful and unsettling. Alexandra Hess delivers a standout performance as Worm; she is completely captivating, especially in how she seamlessly maintains character through the improvised ending. Sango Tajima’s character has a disturbing intensity that sharply contrasts with Worm, highlighting the wonderful absurdity of Worm Teeth as a whole.

Aurora Behlke’s roaming musical contributions add to the play’s atmosphere, enhancing the unique blend of charm and strangeness that defines Worm Teeth.

While the play is richly imaginative, a couple of moments can be puzzling, with certain scenes and sounds not landing as clearly as intended. For me, I didn’t understand Foxy Woxy’s motivations, and I couldn’t hear the narrative during the song with the stomping. Yet, these instances don’t overshadow the overall experience.

The ultimate success of the play does depend heavily on the crowd’s engagement. In our performance, the audience’s focus was fairly linear—they didn’t explore left-field or deeper themes, so the play didn’t get to end on quite the high that it really deserves.

Worm Teeth is even stranger than it sounds. It’s excellent across the board—from the writing and music, to the cast, direction, and lighting. It’s definitely an experience, as engaging as it is unconventional.

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