Making sense of life: Age is a Feeling
From Haley McGee, a new show, that is different every day, inspired by interviews with hospice workers, interactions with mystics and trips to the cemetery. Age is a Feeling is a story about the glorious and melancholy unknowability of human life that charts the seminal moments, rites of passage and turning points in an adult life – your life – from the day you turn 25 through to your death.
There is no ‘Death on the Fringe’ festival within a festival this year, but the subject hasn’t disappeared and this looks to be a worthy representative of the subject but in the context of a life lived not just the end of it.
Personal stories and disability: Deaf Ears
What’s it like growing up when your parents can’t hear? In this poignant and captivating solo show, Joe, therapist and Child of Deaf Adults (CODA), explores his life to answer the question. He takes us from his early years to a hilarious and scary face-off with Chicago police then to a life-changing encounter with a seriously challenging patient who helped unblock his deaf ears.
There are always powerful personal stories to be found at the Fringe; making sense of life on many levels. This sounds like a fast paced one to look out for.
The topical one
Why does a victim become a predator? In isolation, Ghislaine Maxwell maintains innocence whilst reliving the psychological abuse endured from her father. She unravels, fantasising that she is Hedda Gabler; both charismatic, beautiful and, above all, manipulative monsters in the female form. Devised and performed by Kristin Winters, with original music by Alexey Kochetkov. An exploration of privilege, entitlement, and the desire to control another human’s fate.
I chose this one because I found all the published photos of Maxwell with Epstein deeply disturbing. In every one she is besotted, looking all the time for his attention whilst he has an arm round her with an expression that simply says ‘I own you’. So I’m intrigued to see how Winters gets to grip with both a very public story and a very private experience.
The pandemic one
Falkirk’s Hardest Woman faces her toughest challenge: surviving a pandemic with only vodka, fags and BFF Babs on Zoom. Take that, Bear Grylls! Journey through the highs and lows of lockdown as she lusts after Joe Wicks, rages at Cummings, and grows her own weed…
Chosen because, after all, it’s time we had a good laugh at the expense of the pandemic.
Keeping the audience guessing: Muller’s Last Tape
Last year, while clearing out my grandfather’s house, I stumbled across hundreds of hidden envelopes. Every envelope contained a cassette tape, each labelled, Project S. As I listened, I realised that Grandad had managed to rewrite the story of his life. This is the tale of how my seemingly ordinary grandfather played a key role in a major international mystery. Expect hidden messages, obsessive fans, grandmothers, disruptive cockatoos and Belgian indie pop.
Or did he? A potentially intriguing and experimental piece.
