Edinburgh Fringe Theatre reviews: In the Sick of It | Caged: The True Story of Isabella MacDuff | The Christening of Prince Imogene | PALS | You Deserve It | Beowulf and Grendel


THEATRE
In the Sick of It ★★★★
Assembly George Square Studios (Venue 17) until 26 August
This show begins with a mapcap attempt to revive a body on stage, which sets the tone for the rest: a frank look at the parlous state of the NHS through the lens of comedy. Theatre company Wake the Beast was invited in April 2020 to work alongside clinical psychologists in three London NHS Trusts and four care homes to help support staff wellbeing. Since then they have collected more than 500 interviews which writer and director Adam McGuigan has drawn on to make this show.
In a fast-paced hour, McGuigan and fellow performer Kemi Coker tell us about dieticians redeployed to do 12-hour shifts in ICU, patients phoning 999 from their hospital beds because they felt unsafe and nurses wearing PPE improvised from plastic punch pockets. But, as one interviewee – a mental health nurse who has lost a patient – says, the problem is bigger than the pandemic, it is the consequence of years of cuts.
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Hide AdAs well as covering all the things you might expect, the show encompasses the lesser known parts of the NHS, like the wheelchair service at one hospital – one of the few unprivatised – which keeps going through the pandemic despite being deemed “non-essential”, and helps free up badly needed beds and the beleaguered but determined Sickle Cell team. It’s also helpful when the actors reflect on their own experience, how useless they feel asking harassed nurses what brings them joy.
Amid the high-energy slapstick, there is space for poignant moments. And if the larger-than-life delivery gets a bit relentless, it does manage to briskly communicate a lot of unpalatable truths, not least among them the irony that, by 2023, the staff wellbeing project in which the actors worked was itself subject to cuts. Susan Mansfield
THEATRE
Caged: The True Story of Isabella MacDuff ★★★
Hill Street Theatre (Venue 41) until 25 August
Confined within a cage, Eilidh Thomson gives an impassioned performance as Isabella MacDuff. She vividly recounts her role in crowning Robert the Bruce, how she supported him in his fight for independence and what led to her imprisonment by Edward I.
Thomson’s performance powerfully captures the reality of being a woman in that era: married off, pressured to have children and ultimately fading into the background. Despite what she has faced as a woman and as a MacDuff, her passion and determination remain unshaken, even as the cage bars attempt to contain her. She refuses to be silenced.
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Hide AdCollette Swan’s writing is filled to the brim with Scottish history and gives a long-overdue voice to the women who are often overlooked in official accounts. While the story centres on Isabella, there is also mention of other significant woman, such as the female relatives of Robert the Bruce.
The inclusion of hand-delivered notes effectively allows us to hear of the outside world from which she has been isolated for four years.
The intensity of the 45-minute performance doesn’t waver, however. A few shifts in tone or pace could have brought in some variation, providing a bit more light and shade to the performance. Suzanne O’Brien
THEATRE
The Christening of Prince Imogene ★★★
theSpace @ Surgeon’s Hall (Venue 53) until 24 August
What if gender isn’t a spectrum but an ocean of islands? It’s a fresh perspective that Otis Wolodarsky explores through a personal story that goes back to when he was Imogene, and it also explores the reactions of others to a person who identifies as male but has many female traits too. A thoughtful monologue, delivered with laidback, melodic flair, it includes heartfelt but never heavy songs, accompanied by keyboard. “I confuse myself as much as anyone else,” Otis smiles, quietly confident in this simple but insightful first-person story.
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Hide AdIt's an understated but refreshingly honest and gentle tale of one person’s ability to be comfortable with themselves, without the need to conform to other’s definitions of what that should be. An inward-looking analysis rather than anything bigger, it gives an insight into Otis’s relationship with his mother while also touching on mental health issues. It charts the small but intriguing tale of a young person who is desperate to find a man without any sense of what this might mean but who, when faced with challenges, navigates them quietly but effectively. It’s amusing and truthful, with Otis a likeable figure to spend an hour with at the start of another day at the Fringe. Sally Stott
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THEATRE
PALS ★★★
Gilded Balloon Patter House (24) until 26 August
Reminiscent of a Scottish Derry Girls, PALS introduces us to best friends Sadie, Flo, Taylor, and Claire, all of whom are feeling directionless in their lives. In an attempt to find their way, the four embark on a hike. But what begins as a fun adventure soon begins to take a turn, as each of the girls’ real-world problems encroach on the fun.
PALS embodies the essence of feminist theatre: not only do its characters talk about periods and bikini lines, but at its core, the show is about the importance of female friendship, community, and solidarity. The comedy is layered well with moments of real poignancy, deftly exploring topics such as polycystic ovary syndrome and caring for a sick parent. It might be a little rough around the edges and a little slow to get going, but in the end writer Mirren Wilson hits the sweet spot, balancing crude comedy with real heart.
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Hide AdThe standout performances come from Briony Martha as Claire and Millie Rodger as Sadie – their conversation about the intersection of fertility problems and queerness is an original, nuanced angle, and one of the play’s most memorable segments. The onstage friendships are convincing throughout, and a huge part of why PALS is such a joy to watch.
In this cleverly structured piece of new writing, Wilson explores the dynamic between each different pair of girls, painting a realistic picture of the intricacies of young adult friendships. The conflicts that arise feel natural, and while their resolution may be a little trite, the overall effect is moving. Katie Kirkpatrick
THEATRE
You Deserve It ★★
theSpace on the Mile (Venue 39) until 23 August
There’s much to recommend in this piece of new work presented by Out of Order Productions, through the Edinburgh Napier University showcase at theSpace on the Mile – specifically smooth and convincing performances by its six young actors. Yet the premise behind playwright Jess Ferrier’s script unthreads the play, with half a dozen media industry “nepo-babies” (young people who have only achieved their high-flying status through nepotistic connections) brought together for a reunion party in an Edinburgh penthouse. A Cluedo-ish air develops as old scores, jealousies and lusts come to the surface, yet there’s nothing in the makeup of any of this dislikable bunch of characters that leaves the audience rooting for or caring about what happens to them. David Pollock
THEATRE
Beowulf and Grendel ★★
PBH’s Free Fringe @ CC Blooms (Venue 171) until 24 August
When the creature Grendel wages a monstrous attack on Prince Beowulf’s neighbouring kingdom, the two characters clash in one of literary history’s most iconic battles. Adapted and performed by Evan Quinlan, Beowulf and Grendel is reimagined into rather unimaginative 50-minute proportions. Its current realisation as a piece of live theatre is questionable, since so little is made of its staging. A site-specific performance model, or perhaps the medium of radio, would surely allow Quinlan to utilise the power of his voice (which is booming and splendid), thereby enabling audiences to enjoy this Anglo-Saxon epic to its fullest extent. Josephine Balfour-Oatts
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