Fringe theatre reviews: Shellshocked | Anti-heroine | A Little Treat | A Show About Tomorrow | The Hatter's Requiem

The writer of Heroin(e) for Breakfast delivers an unsettling and complex new period piece.

Shellshocked - an Explosive New Play, at the Pleasance.

THEATRE

Shellshocked - An Explosive New Play ****

Pleasance Courtyard (Venue 33) until 26 August

Philip Stokes, the writer/director behind Heroin(e) for Breakfast, My Filthy Hunt, and 2022’s Jesus, Jane, Mother and Me, turns his hand to a period piece in this unsettling two-hander which also offers actor Jack Stokes (Jesus, Jane, Mother and Me) a chance to further extend his range.

He plays Wesley Hepton, who was hailed a hero when he returned to his native Yorkshire from the trenches, though he suffers dark moods due to shellshock. He applies to become assistant to a local artist, Mr Lupine, hoping at last to be able to help support his mother and sisters. But the clever, combative Lupine (Lee Bainbridge) keeps him on the back foot, offering friendliness one minute only to withdraw it the next and turn hostile or, which might be worse, creepily affectionate. The tension in this strange encounter never leaves the stage.

The two drink cognac and seem to reach an agreement, but there is no solid ground here. Meanwhile, the focal point of Craig Lomas’ fine naturalistic set is the blank canvas on which Lupine wants to paint his magnum opus, a self portrait like no other.

Both actors give accomplished performances, Stokes playing the naive and deferential Hepton who grows in assurance as he grasps what he’s up against, and Bainbridge consistently disturbing as the mercurial artist. As the tight script gradually uncoils and reveals its direction of travel, we start to realise, with creeping horror, what Lupine’s fascination with “the darkest recesses of the human condition” might give rise to.

Philip Stokes has written a satisfying and complex play about the frustrations of creative expression, the depths of jealousy and the potential for the broken spirit to recover from the worst of experiences.

Susan Mansfield

THEATRE

Anti-Heroine ****

Greenside @ George Street (Venue 236) until 10 August

What an age to be alive: your mid-twenties, that twilight time between adolescence and full-blown adulthood. An age without too many responsibilities somewhat marred by the persistent lack of money and idealised romantic love that preoccupies those quiet moments between awkward sexual encounters and drunken nights out. Pip Carew’s sparkling new comedy celebrates this golden age as it follows the misadventures of its eponymous Anti-Heroine who’s played with bags of charm by Lottie Burgess. There are downsides, of course; bad shags, terrible dates that make you want to hide in the toilets, having to pretend to like your best friend’s awful boyfriend and the price of tampons.

This may sound like very familiar territory — Fleabag transplanted to the Manchester dating scene — but Carew realises that it’s the stuff that we all have in common that is the most fertile ground for comedy and she elegantly avoids repeating tropes or reheating stale gags. In this she’s helped immeasurably by her gracefully flat-footed star, Lottie Burgess, who gives a beautifully subtle, clownish performance, leaning gently into every gag and quizzically gawking at each new indignity visited upon her character — even though most of them are ultimately her fault.

Burgess’ Anti-Heroine is relatable because she realises that she’s at her most entertaining when making bad decisions. This isn’t a symptom of some deeper issue, it’s just part and parcel of being in your mid-twenties. Oh, and she’s bisexual too which can be an unfortunate energy to bring to Tinder dates with immature men who pride themselves on their — gah! — ‘rizz’. Burgess hilariously spits out the foul modish word (short for ‘charisma’) like spoiled shellfish.

This is genuine laugh-a-minute stuff, sensitively directed by Emily Bunch, that doesn’t ignore the dramatic possibilities of still being immature in a mature body and illuminated by a real star-making performance from Burgess.

Rory Ford

THEATRE

A Little Treat ***

Greenside @ George Street - Mint Studio (Venue 236) until 10 August

When does self-care become selfish? That’s the question gently coiled in the heart of this tender one man show written and performed dexterously by New Yorker Frank Murdocco.

In March 2020, the rest of the world is in meltdown but Frank remains blissfully ignorant. His only directive is planning and executing his 7pm treat, a scared ritual of self-care at the same time each day. It could be anything. A bowl of ice cream. An episode of Real Housewives. No man is an island, no matter how hard he tries. The rest of the world demands him to pay attention; when his estranged father falls ill with covid he must wiggle out of the comfort of his solipsism and back into reality. Will he muster the force to forgive?

Life is messy. Most of us are terminally tangled within the little chaos of our relationships. Murdocco’s unsentimental earnestness gently morphs into the realisation that he is duty bound to the people he is entangled with. As are we all.

His composed charm is irresistible from the off. Mudocco plays to the intimacy of Mint Studio, prattling to his audience as if we are exchanging anecdotes in a bar. A Little Treat is charmingly true to its title.

Alexander Cohen

THEATRE

A Show About Tomorrow ***

Paradise in Augustine’s (Venue 152) until 10 August

It’s an index of how ambitious this one-act musical is that the audience is asked to vote blind for one of four possible endings at the outset and get a loyalty card stamped at the end indicating which one you’ve seen. How many people will be inspired to return again and again to catch all the possible outcomes is open to question but this is a very assured debut from Disaster Class, an east London collective of talented young performers aiming to create accessible theatre.

Written and directed by Dominic Semwanga, it’s tempting to describe this as musical theatre for the TikTok generation as it moves breathlessly from number to number with impressive efficiency. The show is set during a 21st birthday house party during the 1990s that is interrupted by the announcement of the forthcoming end of the world. It’s far from unfamiliar territory but here it’s enlivened considerably by a succession of strong original songs spanning various styles and genres that never outstay their welcome. The apocalyptic scenario gives this a sense of urgency as well as an underlying sense of possible futures cut short but the cast’s strong singing voices and effective harmonising suggest that their own prospects are considerably brighter.

Rory Ford

THEATRE

The Hatter’s Requiem **

theSpace on the Mile (Venue 39) until 10 August

The Mad Hatter is on a mission. Haunted by a girl in a light blue dress he used to know, he leaves Wonderland to track her down. En route, he encounters belligerent playing cards, a tailor with dormouse-like tendencies and the noir delights of the Rabbit Hole nightclub along with some other set pieces beyond the realm of Lewis Carroll.

Shropshire company Spike Rose Productions have assembled some charming visuals with DIY flair and Francesca Fox makes a chastened, hangdog Hatter. Her journey is diverting enough but despite the commitment of the four-strong female cast the destination is underwhelming.

Fiona Shepherd