To say Troy Rogers had a tough upbringing would be a severe understatement. Being born to drug addicted parents, growing up with domestic violence in the home, and with a new person to call dad every six months, you could say he had every right to give up on life. It may have ‘fantasyland’ in the title, but Troy Rogers tough upbringing was anything but a fantasy. This is his real-life story. And in Upside Down Fantastyland, he tells us of his story of survival, addiction, betrayal, relapse and redemption. If it wasn’t so ridiculously real, you’d think it’s a work of fiction!

Walking on the Holden Street Theatre stage in a three-piece suit, Troy Rogers wants to show us that he is a man of worth. A man who has class despite a classless upbringing. Belting out his first song, I wasn’t sure how he would broach the subject of his drug addicted parents, but he does so unflinching and unwavering. More surprisingly, his words are poetic, and he runs through his early traumatic childhood in an almost melancholy fashion. This is a man who has performed this show before and knows every painful word off by heart. As much as I sat in my seat admiring his performance, I was left wondering how he could recite his tragic life time and time again. Was it cathartic to get onstage and do this? Is it a form of therapy, or does he simply want to teach people that no matter how tough life hits you (literally), you can still come out the other side a good person? I think a mixture of all three.

As Troy’s story continues to unravel, he mixes up the performance with some songs, as well as throwing in a joke or two. The problem is, when his words are hitting you like gut punches, you don’t really want to laugh at anything he says, whether it’s funny or not. It is raw, uncompromising real-life storytelling that everyone should see at least once. However, I can also understand if people don’t want to watch a show like this because it is not exactly an escape from the real world. A powerful performance piece delivered by a man who is much more forgiving than I could ever be!

***** Five Stars