August 19, 2023 


The Scotsman
Is it a secret meeting or a show? A piece of comic theatre, or a call to an action that you might later regret? At the start, it feels like a classic Free Fringe performance: we’re putting on fake moustaches and sunglasses. By the end, we’ve been transported from the golden gloom of an underground bar to somewhere significantly darker. It begins, like all great comedy, with a speech delivered from behind a lectern. Its charismatic orator is comedian-turned-playwright Lucy Frederick who, wearing blue eye shadow like war paint, rallies us to seek revenge for the treatment of Cassandra, a woman who isn’t believed for the things that she says and a figure that you may be familiar with from Greek mythology, or real life. This is after all, not so secretly, a piece about eradicating prejudice, including in ourselves.Joined by Robyn Perkins and Alice Frick, who you’ll perhaps recognise from the world of stand-up, and Emma Berryman, who risks stealing the show from the side-lines as Patrick Swayze, there’s tea, biscuits and opportunities to share in what could be a self-help group, a cult, or a franchise – like an Avon party but with more blood. Just when you think you know what to expect, something that feels disconcertingly like a verbatim monologue pops up. And then another one. They’re excellent – moving and macabre, like Alan Bennett meets Tales of the Unexpected. Calls for help regarding a wayward son are unanswered by “the social” in a touching piece delivered by Mr. I Had the Time of My Life, and some ornamental fish risk becoming the victims of a vigilante violence. Can such behaviour ever be justified? What if nothing else is working? By the end of the show, the venue has melted away and it’s not just laughter but tension that fills the room. Sally Stott Click Here For Review