Q&A: Playwright-performer Kelly Clipperton on his new ‘one-man-lady-cabaret’ show

iPhoto caption: Photo by Jennifer Rowsom

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/By Krystal Abrigo / Feb 26, 2025

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Let’s Assume I Know Nothing, and Move Forward From There is the latest work from Kelly Clipperton, a Toronto-based playwright, musician, and performer known for blending cabaret, theatre, and music in his work.

Clipperton’s new one-man play draws from personal experience, exploring shifting family dynamics, caregiving, and identity through a mix of storytelling and live performance. Described on the Factory Theatre website as a “one-man-lady-cabaret,” the show weaves together song and monologue in a way that reflects Clipperton’s background in both theatre and music.

Equal parts confession and celebration, Let’s Assume I Know Nothing, and Move Forward From There offers a look at personal transformation and the unexpected lessons that accompany it.

I connected with Clipperton over email for a brief Q&A about his show. His answers have been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Let’s Assume I Know Nothing, and Move Forward From There is deeply personal, touching on themes of grief and joy. How did your experience with shifting family dynamics, especially in caring for an aging parent, influence the development of this show? 

My late father, who plays a major throughline in the show, was an incredible musician and performer. Watching vascular dementia erode that impulse in him — that joy in him — was heartbreaking. He stopped singing along to everything. That piece of your heart that, as creative people, we absolutely count on just… disappeared. It pushed me to finally create this show, something so many people around me have encouraged me to do for decades.

The show is described as a ‘one-man-lady-cabaret.’ What does that phrase mean to you, and how does it reflect your journey as an artist and performer? 

Honestly? ‘One-man show’ never quite fit me. Simple as that. How I move and have moved through the world is far more nuanced than any of the labels floating around these days. So one day, this phrase popped into my head, and I chuckled. It means everything and nothing.

Your show blends cabaret, personal stories, and music. How did you decide which songs to include, and what role do they play in telling your story?  

Music has been a huge part of my life. It has influenced so many aspects of my creative endeavours. One chapter of the show focuses on my dad’s decline, and as I was writing it, Blondie’s “Hangin’ on the Telephone” popped into my head. The song helped pull more ideas from my history with my dad — the phone acting as a device for connection, or the lack of it.

You’ve been part of Toronto’s cultural scene for decades. How has the city influenced your artistry, and what does it mean to debut this show at Factory Theatre? 

Toronto has always been a major character in everything I do. I’ve always been very proud of this town. Just this past summer, I released a new song, and the video is a love letter to this city that I adore. Its diversity called my name from the suburbs when I was a teenager.

I’ve lived within a stone’s throw of the Factory Theatre for 30 years. It’s part of the backbone of the city’s creative pulse. One of the first shows I ever saw on a high school field trip was at Factory. It’s full circle and a step forward all at once.

As a title, Let’s Assume I Know Nothing, and Move Forward From There feels like a bit of a mantra. What’s the story behind it? How does it capture your creative process and where you’re at in life right now?  

Turns out I like compound sentences for titles! Ha! The second album by The Kellygirls [one of my bands]: We Love You, But Not as Much as We Love Ourselves. My photography coffee table book: If the House Was on Fire, I’d Want You Around. I like them.

When I started this project, I felt incredibly uncertain for so many reasons, so the sense of humour in the title was necessary. The phrase just came out of my mouth one day as I was pitching the idea, and I thought: Yep. That works. Tongue firmly planted in cheek.

Let’s Assume I Know Nothing, and Move Forward From There runs at the Factory Studio Theatre from March 4 to 16.

WRITTEN BY

Krystal Abrigo

Krystal is Intermission's Publishing and Editorial Assistant. A Scarborough-based writer of Philippine and Egyptian descent, she graduated cum laude with an Honours BA in Professional Writing from York University, specializing in Book Publishing and Corporate/Organizational Communication. She enjoys reading bell hooks, Audre Lorde, and James Baldwin. At any given moment, you can probably find her at a concert or on a long walk somewhere in Toronto.

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