Colin Quinn: Small Talk

“If you state the truth, that creeps people out,” Colin Quinn proclaims during Small Talk. This statement reflects the tone of the comedian’s newest one-man show – a coarse combination of “I’m just being honest” and “You can’t say anything these days!”

Quinn’s presence as an unapologetic, lovable curmudgeon is well suited to Small Talk, an examination of the Internet’s impact on the ability to engage in pleasant, insignificant chat with strangers. Directed by James Fauvell, the show completed a run at the Lucile Lortel Theatre and will play an extended run at Greenwich House Theater.

At 63, Quinn has lived through momentous cultural shifts, the most recent as he put it, is the ability to “carry a billion people’s personalities in your pockets all the time.” Small talk is down 87 percent, he claims, thanks to phones, air pods and self-checkout.  

The incessant self-promotion – of beliefs as well as products, as people develop their personal brands – is another culprit, Quinn claims. Why talk about the weather with a single stranger in in an elevator when you could make a sweeping declaration about the latest political outrage and reach thousands? 

None of Quinn’s observations are groundbreaking, but they are entertaining when delivered effectively. Unfortunately, his onstage presence is scattered, and he frequently fails to finish a sentence before delivering another.

A lack of focus pervades the 75-minute show, as Quinn moves abruptly from subject to subject, the largest leap going from small talk to living in what he refers to as a “two-cult country.” He touches upon immigration, abortion and gun control before musing about what a person’s truly authentic self is, and if it’s better to keep that to oneself, declaring, “Your social media profile is who you think you are, and your browser history is who you are.”

While he does not utter the phrase “political correctness,” Quinn lightly touches upon the “policing” of people through smart phones. Soon, government will be unnecessary, having been replaced by Human Resources – “Everybody with a phone is HR. We’re all HR to each other.”

While far from groundbreaking, Small Talk is undeniably entertaining. There was plenty of laughter in the audience, plenty of it sounding relieved, as if people were reassured Quinn was saying what they were thinking, so they did not have to.

“The only people who speak their minds at this point are complete idiots or comedians.”  One wonders which category Quinn places himself in.