While Tim Mooney is mostly known for his hilarious, fast moving takes on Shakespeare (including last year’s award-winning, “Breakneck Midsummer Night’s Dream,” or 2024’s holdover winner, “Breakneck Twelfth Night,” back in 2019 Tim startled Fringe audiences everywhere with “Man Cave, a One-Man Sci-Fi Climate Change Tragicomedy,” picking up raves and awards along the way. In KC, The Pitch called it “captivating ... darkly humorous... richly filled” ... while audience reviews described “a frighteningly credible alternate future,” “beautifully crafted,” “a wild ride” “impeccable” and “the show we should all be talking about.”
And yet, SOMEHOW, mankind did NOT step away from that brink, instead pressing that accelerator, Thelma-and-Louise style ever further and faster toward that abyss.
While “Man Cave Volume I” left us with an impossible cliffhanger, the Idiocracy that is US opened the door to a future that you simply won’t see coming. This time, Tim “zooms out” into the only possible vision of that Earth/Hellscape that might still allow us to laugh in the face of the relentless apocalypse! The Kings River Life review cheered, “Tim uses witty reference to pop culture and politics to make complicated scientific observations understandable (and entertaining as heck).” Audience reviews called it “Amazing,” while one Indy Fringe viewer wrote, “We are screwed!”
Tim explains, “While ‘Man Cave I’ gave us a microcosm of what might happen in the very short time before everything shuts down, ‘Man Cave II’ (you don’t need to have seen the first to ‘get’ the second) zooms out to a billion mile/billion year vision of a world and a universe that may not have US in it any more. Or, as Molière famously said: “We die only once... and for such a long time!”
This monologue is a reflection on the history of humanity and where we likely are going with climate change and technofeudalism/algorithmic dialogue division. Vocalizes what I imagine many non-ostriches are feeling with climate anxiety and the breakdown in political discourse, or political discourse that is simply self-centered.
There is no direct audience engagement during the performance, so if that is your thing it won’t be a show for you.
I did see the first Man Cave and this one was quite a bit different. But the message is the same. As I write this, there are reports of massive wildfires in France and Spain, while we’ve already been dealing with massive wildfires in Canada. I share Tim’s frustration and anger from the first show. His vision of the future of our species and planet is not necessarily a happy one, but it seems to be the direction we’re going. So in a lot of ways it feels like he’s not necessarily venting as much as just reporting. Great job.
I’ve been following Tim for years (e.g. Breakneck Shakespeare) Saw the 1st installment of “Man Cave”. Tim’s dialogue is incredibly clever & impeccable. You don’t have to see the original M.C.to catch up & connect with its sequel. A must see sneaky, eye opening wake up call to seriously ponder as Himan Beings on our fragile planet.
Makes me wonder & ponder. Jeez, will we ever wake up and get it right before its too late and we as a species become a distant conscience speck of history-if not that?
Tim Mooney takes audiences to the future in this thought provoking solo piece that leaves us contemplating the path our modern choices are leading humanity towards.
I don’t want to spoil too much, but Tim manages to make big thoughts accessible and creates a world that will linger in your mind much longer than the car ride home. The show is smart, honest, and manages to be funny without sacrificing the impact of its message.
Tim has proven he’s a master of Shakespeare, but he is just as adept when painting with his own words. Man Cave II is great! Don’t let the KC Fringe slip by without seeing it for yourself!
I have seen many of Tim’s Shakespeare shows and was very excited to see Man Cave 2 after my partner raved about the first one. So glad I didn’t need to have seen the original show, but now desperately wanting to! Funny, beautiful, and clever as always Tim delivers such a great show!
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