FringeReview Scotland 2026
Perfect Dead Girls
Audaciously Tenacious Theatre
Genre: New Writing, Theatre
Venue: Duns Volunteer Hall
Festival: FringeReview Scotland
Low Down
Held in a purgatory littered with glitter and teenage angst, two girls find themselves trapped following their sudden deaths. All they know for sure is that “someone” is watching them. And this “someone” has the key to unlock the figurative door marked “exit”, and determine who gets to leave and who is booked in for eternity.
Review
Two very large suitcases sit roughly centre stage, indicating someone is off on a journey. Or has just arrived, somewhere. Curious. Three flats covered in old newspapers, graffiti, post it notes and random daubes stand, towering over proceedings, suggesting that whoever is here has been here for some time. And wants out. Curiouser.
B*Witched’s hit “C’Est la Vie” blasts suddenly from the speakers and lights instantly hit full power as a pair of polar opposites bounce on stage, attempting to mimic the original dance moves in the ubiquitous video that was de rigueur for every choreographed girl band in the late 1990’s / early 2000’s. They fail, badly.
But one of them wants to work at it until they get it spot on, the other grumpily remarks that this whole dance thing is a complete waste of effort. What’s it all for anyway? Who are they dancing for? And how is it going to change their situation?
The explosive start, however, soon morphs into reflection as the girls battle their contrasting demons, trying to determine the lengths each is prepared to go to in order to secure freedom.
Held in a purgatory littered with glitter and teenage angst, two girls find themselves trapped following their sudden deaths. All they know for sure is that “someone” is watching them. And this “someone” has the key to unlock the figurative door marked “exit”, and determine who gets to leave and who is booked in for eternity.
Created and performed by Chelsea Grace and Elizabeth Robbins (the contrasting couple that is Audaciously Tenacious Theatre), Perfect Dead Girls is an exploration of the joys, paranoia and paraphernalia of girlhood, set here in the 2010’s, as young women struggle to survive in a system that demands they tear each other down.
The contrast in character between the pair is stark; Robbins, dressed in girly-pink, is bubbly, outgoing, overloaded with optimism in her determination to find her way out of this mess; Grace, dressed to rebel, is angry, moody, recalcitrant, a punk that makes Sid Vicious look like a conformist.
The sharply written script winds back and forth through their time in this “place”, the myriad of crisp, tightly choregraphed scenes dropping hints like confetti as they (and their enrapt audience) piece together the jigsaw of fragmented memories that will ultimately reveal their respective fates.
Each scene is an event in itself, mixing physical theatre, dance, machine-gun dialogue, moments of reflection, pathos, care and concern, mixed with raw ire at the perceived obstinacy of each other, cleverly placed throwaway lines laced with soupçons of dark humour occasionally lowering the tension, giving us all time to breathe.
That the whole thing hangs together despite being (deliberately) non-linear is a credit to all involved, and particularly the hard-working techies, responsible for delivering with exquisite precision the split-second segues that form a vital part of the narrative as the tension builds until, finally, the call comes through that will determine who gets to leave. Credit too, for the way the resultant denouement is both scripted and executed. Poignant, full of pathos, conveying an air of finality that is both chilling and haunting.
This is theatre that comes highly recommended – Robbins and Grace have written and directed a winner. Tight script, superbly acted. Every conceivable emotion delivered with conviction and clarity. Clear and obvious chemistry between the performers. And an understanding that silence can sometimes be more powerful than words. Now on a short Scottish tour, Perfect Dead Girls is a show that packs a mighty punch. Seek it out.
