The backgrounds of solo performers over the decades range from
vaudeville, comedy, poetry, music, the visual arts,
magic,
cabaret, theatre and dance. by
Rupert Holmes;
Ed Metzger in his solo show, performing since 1978,
Albert Einstein: The Practical Bohemian; Metzger in another solo performance,
Hemingway: On the Edge;
Henry Fonda as
Clarence Darrow in
Darrow,
Ronald Rand as
Harold Clurman in
Let It Be Art! since 2001 in 25 countries, and
Tom Dugan as
Simon Wiesenthal in
Wiesenthal.
Roy Dotrice gave 1,782 performances as
John Aubrey in
Brief Lives from 1967 onwards, prior to reviving the show in 2008. A few actors adapted entire novels for the stage including
Patrick Stewart who played all 43 parts in his version of
A Christmas Carol, which played three times on
Broadway and at
The Old Vic in London; actor
Gerald Charles Dickens played 26 characters in his performances from the same work; and
Jack Aranson starred in a solo, 13-character production of
Moby Dick. Solo performance may be personal, autobiographical creations. This ranges from the intensely confessional but comedic work of
Spalding Gray, the semi-autobiographical
A Bronx Tale by
Chazz Palminteri, or
Holly Hughes' solo piece
World without End, in which she attempts to make sense of her relationship with her mother, who had died. Another example of this is
In The Body of the World, written and performed by
Eve Ensler in 2018. Still other shows may rally around a central theme, such as pop culture in Pat Hazel's
The Wonderbread Years, relationships in Robert Dubac's
The Male Intellect, the history of the New York City transit system in
Mike Daisey's
Invincible Summer, or fighting the system in
Patrick Combs'
Man 1, Bank 0. these themes could also be centered around a certain topic such as a political or social issue.
Karen Finley expressed her frustration with the standards women are held to and the issues surrounding them such as rape and abortion in her solo piece titled
We Keep Our Victims Ready. Sometimes, solo shows are simply traditional plays written by playwrights for a cast of one. Examples:
Shirley Valentine by
Willy Russell,
I Am My Own Wife by
Doug Wright,
The Blonde, the Brunette and the Vengeful Redhead by Robert Hewett and
Topless by
Miles Tredinnick. A performer of shows of this type is
Chris Harris, whose performances in the genre include ''Kemp's Jig
, That's The Way To Do It!
, Ally Sloper's Half Holiday, Beemaster
, 'Arris Music 'All
and A Night at the Pantomime''. There have also been many British comedians who have moved away from performing pure stand-up comedy in recent years. The shows that appear annually at the
Edinburgh Festival Fringe can involve stories of
pathos and the use of technological equipment such as
projectors. Examples include
Howard Read, who has performed with the animated character
Little Howard which was projected with the aid of computers and
Dave Gorman, who has performed several shows described as "documentary comedy". ==Solo performance in film==