Edinburgh Fringe 2025
Woman in the Arena
Jen DiGiacomo
Genre: Drama, Solo Play, Theatre
Venue: Greenside
Festival: Edinburgh Fringe
Low Down
In her fringe debut, Jen DiGiacomo takes us through her life, her trials, and her triumphs.
Review
Almost immediately upon commencement of the piece, Jen DiGiacomo tells us she has two secrets. I won’t share them here, as that would spoil the show, but I assure you I didn’t guess either. DiGiacomo plays on preconceptions to keep the audience watching. She expertly reveals information at just the right moment to continuously subvert any thought of what comes next.
Woman in the Arena is a one-woman show from playwright and performer Jen DiGiacomo. The story is one of her life. Like many of us, it has ups, downs, and everything in between. Armed with a slide show and a few personal effects, DiGiacomo presents a well-structured piece of raw storytelling. The play lands somewhere between a play and a TED talk. Her use of projections and physicality in the space seemed to reference a lecture of sorts, but lectures rarely have props. The previously mentioned personal items were spread throughout the large stage, but what at first seemed haphazard began to unravel into specificity. Not a single item on stage went unused or unreferenced, and there was a clear order to the seemingly random assortment.
The fringe has no shortage of solo autobiographical plays. In fact, I’d say it’s become a staple of the festival. So, then, what is the motivation? Is the audience meant to sympathize? Empathize? Feel bad for the actor? Feel bad about themselves? Instead of making the audience feel pity, DiGiacomo, somewhat conversely to the majority of the content, asks the audience to feel hope — to feel joy. She says as much. She recognizes the possible self-indulgence and brings the why to the forefront. Not the why for her, but the why for us.
In her debut show, DiGiacomo has found a distinctive voice in her writing. Her sharp language and dark humor are strengths to her performance. Refinement in the performance, be it vocal projection or addressing an oddly shaped stage, will come with time. Shows like Woman in the Arena are what the fringe is for. An Incubation chamber for stories that otherwise would have a stage. DiGiacomo has a bright future in storytelling, and I’m excited to see what she does next.
