Theatre review: 100 Ways To Tie A Shoelace

Edinburgh Festival Fringe: Following their 2016 Fringe debut, The Life And Times Of Lionel, Leeds theatre company Forget About The Dog return with another highly physical show exploring the clash between our interior and exterior lives.

Greenside @ Nicolson Square (Venue 209)

***

Cat wakes up in hospital following an accident, and has trouble remembering certain things – things like the words “grotty” and “sentimental”, or how to tie her shoelaces.

As with Lionel, the ­company have great fun depicting the inner workings of Cat’s mind: she’s transported to imaginary war zones and game shows, ­bodily manipulated and interrogated by her own psyche. It’s inventive, though sometimes less than satisfying – a journey into Cat’s “primitive brain” doesn’t really pay off, and Cat’s intelligence is represented rather excruciatingly by “Isaac and Quentin” – because IQ, geddit!?

With all that mental ­playfulness, the world outside Cat’s brain has some work to do in grounding the narrative, and it does this well – Cat’s sister Grace is a fully realised character with her own faults and frustrations, and far more than just the “supportive sibling” Cat might have had.

It’s a small thing, but the minimal set design is also praiseworthy: a white tape outline, with jagged cracks around the edges hinting at Cat’s fractured mental state.

Until 19 August. Today 7:40pm.