By Josephine Balfour-Oatts, Suzanne O'Brien, Katie Hawthorne and Laura Cameron-Lewis

Published 15th Aug 2023, 13:44 BST

MEAT ****

Pleasance Courtyard (Venue 33) until 28 August

Written and performed by Elle Dillon-Reams, MEAT is a lesson in saying ‘no’. It is an invitation to shout at the world. It is a note of permission, and it tears up the rulebook. MEAT is perfectly disobedient.

Combining theatre, poetry, clowning, cabaret, and dance, this piece observes the life of one woman as she leaves behind the years of her girlhood, only to grapple with the numerous, unrealistic, and often contradictory demands that are made of her, as she grows, ages, and enters into womanhood.

Dillon-Reams’s character-work is impressive, and each character works to convey the very complicated, very acute feelings of self-consciousness that can come with having a growing body (a supermassive fear of maturing too quickly, for example - or of maturing in the ‘wrong’ way).

The script is rhythmic, told mostly in rhyme. The piece features themes of disordered eating, which, since these behaviours indicate an investment in her own invisibility, are affecting. Dillon-Reams lip-syncs to original music - these sections are brilliantly executed - and in one particularly powerful scene, an incident involving sexual assault is figured via a stand up routine.

Elements of audience interaction help to round out the shape of the piece. There is a real sense of collectivity throughout - of being part of, and party to, something bigger than the bunker that we share. However, the rules of engagement aren’t always clear, and while Dillon-Reams is proficient at engaging with her audience, the line between her monologues and her dialogues with audience members could be more clearly defined.

In-keeping with the ongoing nature of, and need for, feminist politics and practices off-stage, MEAT refuses to resolve itself. So, there is no happy ending. Not here. Or at least, not yet. Josephine Balfour-Oatts

The Standard Short Long Drop ****

theSpace Triplex (venue 38) until August 26

Considering its ominous title, it is no surprise that Ticking Clock Theatre's production is very dark. Set in York in 1885, in the confines of a prison cell, are two men who are sentenced to die for their crimes. As they await their hanging, the younger of the two, Ludley (Per Carminger), is given a lifeline on the condition that he is the hangman of his cellmate Alistair (Kevin Wathen).

Under Natasha Rickman’s direction, both actors give heartbreaking and raw performances. Wathen is sinister and unsettling in the role and he is also able to bring a sensitivity to Alistair as the time runs out and his tough outer shell begins to crack. Carminger's Ludley is youthful and naive and there is an innocence about him that is at times difficult to watch. Although very different people and unlikely friends in the outside world, the cell brings them together and the thought of murdering his cellmate, becomes increasingly overwhelming for Ludley - but what choice does he have?

With the threat of death at any moment, Rachel Garnet's compelling script will have the audience hanging on to every word. Although for much of the play, information is mysteriously withheld and the truth of both their crimes is kept undisclosed, it is done in such a way that keeps the audience invested rather than frustrated. Unexpected moments of humour are cleverly worked in, which are much needed for such a heavy and emotionally taxing piece.

Although set over a century ago, its exploration of the cost of living, class divides, low wages, morals and what we are willing to do to get by, are all still very much relevant topics in today's society. In fact, it's interesting and saddening to see how little has changed. Suzanne O'Brien

An Afternoon with the Ladies of the Cliff Richard Fan Club ***

Assembly Rooms (Venue 20) until 27 August

It’s Sutton Coldfield, 1995, and the local chapter of the Cliff Richard Fan Club are holding a taster session for prospective new members. From the moment that the audience (aka the new recruits) are ushered through the doors, it’s all home comforts, Cliff crowd-pleasers and cobbled-together party food. The set is cosy and suitably homespun, with posters festooned and badges ready to be handed out, and the titular Ladies (played by a bouncy five-piece cast) tease each other affectionately with dusty trivia and favourite songs. But as each woman steps forward to properly introduce herself, through a series of monologues, it becomes clear that Cliff takes second-billing to the group’s friendship in this warm-hearted show.

Written by Paul Westwood, An Afternoon touches on serious themes, such as domestic violence, grief, and illness, but sometimes these stories feel rushed off stage. Even one such storyline would have been enough to explain the powerful connection between this supportive, protective community, and some predictable banter takes time away from exploring these women in greater depth. Still, the cast’s gentle chaos, directed by Clemmie Reynolds, is charming to watch, and this hour feels a genuine celebration of music as the greatest unifier. Katie Hawthorne

1000 Miniature Meadows ***

Pleasance (Venue 33) until 28 August

Pick up an envelope at Pleasance Courtyard and then leave the Fringe behind: 1000 Miniature Meadows is an audio work to be experienced solo, and in a green space of your choosing. With a feather-light, holistic touch, artists Shanna May Breen and Luke Casserly invite listeners to look closely at the world around them, with transportive sound design from Sam Hardiman which intertwines with the sounds of life beyond the headphones.

Structured around a series of talking heads, with a few gentle suggestions for the listener, 1000 Miniature Meadows imagines a future in which humans and nature have found a more harmonious rhythm. This educational format is certainly more documentary than theatre, but as I sit in the grass in the middle of Holyrood Park and listen to experts talk about the ancient formation of this land, it is as if the ground is moving underneath me. From the changing skyline above, to earthy scent of tree bark, and down to the insects scurrying beneath towering daisy stalks, this is a softly sensory experience with an important final act. Surely the most wholesome hour you could spend at the Fringe, and with the healthiest consequences for the planet, too. Katie Hawthorne

Adaptation: Enough Already ***

Annexe at theSpace @ Symposium Hall until 26 August

We all know that it is important to take time to focus on ourselves, but that is much easier said than done. Vegas Nerve's production highlights that even for a corporate trainer who helps others to master their mindset, encourages vagus breathing and promotes self-care, it is extremely difficult.

Underneath a confident exterior, the trainer played convincingly by writer Samantha Graham, is a struggling woman who is too overwhelmed to practice what she preaches. The story bounces between her work life and full-on home life and the difference between these two personas is quite jarring.

Taking inspiration from Charlie Kaufman's film Adaptation and Gabor Maté’s book The Myth of Normal, this show is a story of personal struggle that we are likely to have heard before and it certainly won’t be the last time we do. What makes this piece different is its inclusion of live music and its unique projections designed by John McGeoch. The projections are well incorporated and transport the audience through time, space and into the madness of her unsettled mind. It feels dreamlike at points and never excessive.

Exploring universal stresses such as intense work schedules, constant commuting and family commitments, many will closely relate to the piece. Suzanne O’Brien

Coma ***

Summerhall (Venue 26) until 27 August

Darkfield’s shipping-container based experiences are definitely worth the 20 or so mind-opening minutes. You enter to three tiers of white bunkbeds lining the container for its full length. Lying on a plastic covered clinical bed, the lights dim as you put on headphones, a question is whispered into your ear – would you take the pill on your pillow and join the medical experiment? The soundtrack is recorded so you can perceive sounds and their distance coming from a particular direction in 360 degree space – exactly like real life. This same recording technology was used in Complicité’s 2015 EIF show, the Encounter, but in a Darkfield show you are in a darkness so total that, even with eyes open, I found that my brain was ‘seeing’ what happens when I meditate or go to sleep: multicoloured clouds and old-school Doctor Who title sequences. Near-sensory deprivation, scents waft through the container at salient points as the meandering narrator walks between the beds. It’s uncanny but doesn’t go far enough in any direction. It wants to be, but isn’t quite the intensity of something like the time I really was under general anaesthetic and aware of being operated on – the show hints at these and other territories, yet a tighter script would better facilitate both journey and destination. Laura Cameron-Lewis

Edinburgh Fringe theatre reviews: MEAT | The Standard Short Long Drop | An Afternoon with the Ladies of the Cliff Richard Fan Club | 1000 Miniature Meadows | Adaptation: Enough Already | Coma