Edinburgh Fringe 2025
I Dream in Colour
Jasmine Thien with The Project People
Genre: New Writing, Solo Performance, Theatre
Venue: Underbelly
Festival: Edinburgh Fringe
Low Down
A semi-autobiographical one-woman show which uses sharp humour to tell a challenging story about overcoming adversity in the face of society’s prejudice, whilst struggling for independence in family and relationships.
Review
Sophie has a battle on her hands, a battle with her parents to make her own decisions about her eyesight, with her boyfriend about her right to live the life she chooses, and with society about her right to exist as an independent, young woman. Luckily she is resilient and armed with a big sense of humour as she fights to claim agency as an adult.
I Dream in Colour is ‘about 60% from my life’ says the writer and performer Jasmine Thien who is a fully blind young woman. Thien (who is also a poet and comedian) brings energy and exuberance to her performance which features zingy one-liners alongside a deft physicality when she is being manhandled by patronising teachers and carers, over efficient nurses and in one jarring scene fending off a sexual assault.
There are subtle adaptations to allow Thien to move in character with confidence and speed. A raised centre line and tactile markings which indicate the performance area, and the set is a blow up bed which is easy for a solo performer to manoeuvre to create different stagings but also soft so that Thien avoids painful bumps.
The play zips backwards and forwards in time as Sophie’s discovery that she has a tumour in her remaining eye (she lost the other in childhood) triggers memories of endless hospital trips as a child, alongside parental avoidance of reality and misguided teachers and carers. Although Thien brings other characters to life through her movement their voices are all played as recordings. Technically this is handled well but creatively it is not always satisfactory, missing the freshness of live performance. Thien and her director Max Percy could explore the impact of her voicing all the characters.
Sophie has synesthesia; she experiences sounds and smells as different colours. A much more adventurous use of lighting would heighten this aspect of her character. The play’s title references Sophie’s hopes and ambitions and a figurative representation of this would be welcome.
Although Thien’s specific lived experience will be unique to her some of the clumsy interactions and prejudicial reactions Sophie gets will be commonly experienced by all disabled people. Medical staff focused on treating your condition not you, parents and friends overeager with the cotton wool wrapping whilst praising you as an inspiration, discrimination in education and work. Thien’s play contains all this and more and her writing is very adept, showing us and not lecturing so she avoids the ‘barely theatre misery memoir’ trap. But some every day moments of joy would be welcome to leaven the otherwise bleak diet. Sophie is an engaging and feisty character (excellently portrayed by Thien) and a script containing lighter moments would help the audience see how the character developed these traits.
I Dream in Colour is a great debut play, with a captivating performance from its solo performer.. A recommended show at the Edinburgh Fringe.
