Samantha Adams mines grief with dark humour at Fringe

Samantha Adams' solo show "Completely Forgettable" takes the familiar formula of the therapy-session tragicomedy and executes it with genuine emotional clarity, mining grief and invisibility for dark humour.

The show opens with Sam's birthday party — and nobody knows it's her birthday. From there, Adams moves through university crushes, body-image struggles, and a string of funerals. "It's her season of grief," reviewer Ryan Pepper noted, and Adams' ability to convey emotion is precise. "Not here — Adams is her grieving self," Pepper wrote. "If you want to accompany her on that journey, you'll be rewarded with a show relatable in both its tragedy and its comedy."

The best moments come when the show sticks to its premise. Tales of Brad the college fling and the intimate moments when Adams seems to invite the audience into a one-on-one therapy session land hardest. The show sometimes sprawls, trying to capture the full range of the female experience — from swimsuits to relationships — when tighter focus on being "completely forgettable" might have sharpened its edge.

Adams' vignettes resonate because they're specific. Her delivery is sharp and clear; she doesn't perform for approval but speaks like someone working through something real. Humans, Pepper observed, have remarkably similar tales — of bad exes, regrettable one-night stands, and the deep need to be seen and recognized. "There is certainly nobody at Ottawa Fringe who wouldn't find Adams' vignettes relatable."

"Completely Forgettable" runs at Studio 1201 until June 28. Tickets are $14 plus service fees online, at the Fringe box office (67 Nicholas Street), and at satellite box offices at Arts Court (2 Daly Avenue) and La Nouvelle Scène (333 King Edward Avenue).