Edinburgh Fringe 2025
Trouble, Struggle, Bubble and Squeak
Victoria Melody
Genre: Comedy, Storytelling, Theatre
Venue: Pleasance Courtyard
Festival: Edinburgh Fringe
Low Down
Performer Victoria Melody and Director Mark Thomas have brought their considerable skills and political interests together in this quirky and thought-provoking show. Combining her latest passions and left-field social observation Melody has once more woven a story from a slice of her real life. It is a heart-warming community fable in these times times about increasing polarisation and a widening poverty gap.
Review
“The chicken man is coming to help me flyer!” is how theatre-maker and stand up comic Victoria Melody opens the show. It’s a typical Melody opening line, seemingly nonsensical but a delightful start to this lovely piece of linear story telling. No flashbacks, the other characters are represented by cardboard cut outs, the vegetables are knitted and you get a history lesson thrown in. And it all makes glorious and uplifting sense by the end.
In 2022 Melody joined a 17th century historical re-enactment society. Her last stage show ended with her on stage in her authentic red woollen costume of the English Civil War and she picks up where she left off then, sharing what she has learnt from spending her weekends as a Musketeer (she eschews the combat elements because she is a fire hazard with powder and shot guns). She discovers the story of 17th century radicals, The Diggers, and what started as a bit of escapism from a difficult period of her life became a quest to find The Diggers of today (The Chicken Man being one of them).
Jeremy Corbyn has been in the news recently in praise of allotments and Friends of the Earth, Extinction Rebellion and other modern activists campaign fervently to protect our planet but before them all were the Diggers who believed there was an inherent connection between people and their surroundings and that the earth should be all people’s “common treasury”. They put theory into practice and in a time of rising food prices seized land to grow food free for those who needed it. Melody finds that on her own Brighton doorstep is a community hub which is doing a modern day equivalent and this is the story of time she spent with them which culminates in a glorious day of activism but in typical Melody fashion just not quite the one that anyone had planned for.
Melody is a lovely performer to spend time with, with a gentle comedic tone (although she doesn’t shy away groan-worthy puns). She brings a cast of characters to life, making us laugh without laughing at them and poking the most fun at herself as the Queen of Relatable Errors. She and Thomas have crafted a cracking story from a lot of raw material but as a narrator she keeps it simple, immediate and genuine. She describes herself as an anthropologist although admits this time she got very involved in events, and her passion for social justice shines through. If you have never seen a Victoria Melody show before you are in for a treat and existing fans will delight in another top notch hour of quirky entertainment.
