Edinburgh Fringe 2026
Amnesia
Hat Trick Productions, Theatr Clwyd and Sherman Theatre
Genre: character comedy, New Writing, Solo Play
Venue: Pleasance Courtyard
Festival: Edinburgh Fringe
Low Down
Kelly, a dementia carer in Rhyl (and daughter of two Tom Jones tribute acts), is devoted to her job in an old people’s home. Whether it’s Edna, the serial biter, or Astrid who thinks her Nana is a bin, Kelly balances giving her charges fun days with great care.
It’s not all hard work for Kelly. Proudly raised on ClubLand, seaside fun fairs, and summers snogging scousers, she’s just back from a week of all night raving in Ibiza to when her life is upended. Hiding her hurt and fear of change, Kelly spirals out of control and risks losing everything.
Review
Amnesia introduces us to Kelly, a dementia carer in an old people’s home in Rhyl, who interacts with her charges, Edna, Astrid and Len, with more patience and warmth than the job has any right to expect. Kelly’s world beyond work is just as vividly drawn: a boss with a taste for novelty ties who fancies her mum, (a Tom Jones tribute act), and an ex-school friend and wheeler dealer forever trying to flog her the latest knock-off gear. Written and performed solo by Kimberly Hart-Simpson, this is a Rhyl brought fully and affectionately to life.
At the centre of Kelly’s life is Amit, her best friend since primary school, the boy she has been a protective rottweiler for ever since. Twenty years on, the two of them are stuck in a groove, currently rehearsing a dance routine for Edna’s big birthday party to a soundtrack of club anthems. It is a lovely, low-stakes picture of a friendship that has outlasted all Kelly’s other relationships, which makes it land all the harder when Amit’s plans turn out to be very different from hers.
Hart-Simpson is a terrific performer, sketching Rhyl’s cast of eccentrics and loved ones so that each one is instantly recognisable, and clever staging by Director Kate Wasserberg does much of the heavy lifting alongside her. A simple lighting trick evokes each resident of the old people’s home, while the upbeat dance soundtrack and Kelly’s restless movement make the most of the small thrust stage. The one character who doesn’t quite land is Amit. We need to see him more fully to experience the full weight of his actions . The sound mix occasionally drowned out Hart-Simpson in the performance reviewed, which is a shame given how many good lines are packed in.
Amnesia follows a familiar solo-show format, a compelling protagonist and a supporting cast who help or hinder her along the way, but it is a great example of the genre. Underneath the laughs sits something sadder, about how the loss of a parent can freeze us at the age it happened, and how the safety of a settled life can just as easily become a trap. A co-production between Sherman Theatre and Theatre Clwyd, staged as part of the Pleasance’s National Partnership programme, this pedigree show is well worth seeking out at the Fringe. Kelly is brilliant company, funny, full of beans and impossible not to root for.
