Edinburgh Fringe 2022
Tinted
Genre: Drama, New Writing, Theatre
Venue: Gilded Balloon Patter Hoose venue 24
Festival: Edinburgh Fringe
Low Down
Laura is funny, creative and sexy and she happens to be visually impaired. It’s not a flaw, even if some people treat it as one. ‘There’s no access guide to sex; how to consensually sh*g your blind girlfriend.’ But when you’re disabled, the lines of consent get a bit… blurred. Originally written as a disabled response to #MeToo, Tinted examines bodily autonomy in the group society often leaves behind.
Review
Tinted features a strong and engaging performance from Goldsmith’s graduate and Fringe newcomer Charlotte Eyres. She captures Laura’s vulnerability and curiosity, and is convincing playing different ages – primary school kid, teenager, sexy in a nightclub, disorientated when the pubs close. There is strong direction too from Adam Elms making the best of a bare stage, a single chair and a creative lighting plot. The My Little Pony onesie is genius. Amy Bethan Evan’s script deftly explores Charlotte’s ‘every girl experience’ – teasing at school, overprotective Dad, the slip and slide between childhood and teenage years, desire for sexual experiences and sadness and confusion when she is mistreated. The title is a play on the eyesight condition Laura has and the lens through which she is viewed.
There are some road bumps in the script which perhaps could be smoothed out for the planned tour. At times it is a little too obtuse and I think audiences might need more clarity. Evan’s wrote this as a disabled response to #metoo and she succeeds in showing how all women can experience exploitation in relationships, consent assumed and not given. There could be more exploration of what Laura experiences uniquely because she is visually impaired, the barriers and her lack of confidence because of her over protective upbringing, making a point that relates to the wider experience of many blind and partially sighted women.
There is audio description Closed Captioning available on all shows. The venue is wheelchair accessible but allow time to negotiate a second floor space via quite a snug lift (room for a big wheelchair but not much more). Gilded Balloon Patter Hoose does have lots of staff in its foyer to help you out.
