Edinburgh Fringe Theatre reviews: Down to Chance | Escape the Noise | Forget-Me-Not |Anatomy of Pain + more

Down to Chance

Pleasance Courtyard (Venue 33)

★★★★☆

On Good Friday 1964, Alaska was hit by a 9.2 magnitude earthquake. The Great Earthquake took out all communications in and around Anchorage apart from the local radio station, where female reporter Genie Chance was left in sole charge. Her calm broadcasts throughout the night shared the news, helped reunite missing people and coordinated the volunteer effort.

This true story is the basis of the new two-hander by Cornwall-based theatre company Maybe You Like It, who are associate artists at the Pleasance 2025-27. Performers Ellie Jay Cooper (also the writer) and Robert Merriam switch between a host of different parts in this fast-moving production directed by Caleb Barron.

Until the earthquake happens, Chance (Cooper) is struggling to get her stories aired. Everyone seems to patronise her as a woman in a man’s world, and even her husband Winston is starting to suggest that she quit the station to spend more time with their three kids. However, her maturity and determination when faced with big decisions about what to broadcast eventually earns her the grudging respect of General James Whittaker of the National Guard who takes charge in the city.

There are some laugh-out-loud moments when Dom, Genie’s hapless accomplice, and his friend Kathleen, try to keep the station running through the night by singing Everly Brothers songs and playing charades, and garrulous radio ham Walt Sourbeer offers help in connecting with other hams across the state on short wave.

The madcap comedy action does at times sit uncomfortably with the seriousness of the disaster, which claimed 139 lives. But there is so much to like in this production, a tribute to a woman who stepped up and triumphed in the toughest of moments, and a love letter to the golden age of radio.

SUSAN MANSFIELD

until 25 August

Escape the Noise

Central Hall (Venue 295)

★★★☆☆

It is non-stop: the alerts, alarms, emails, text messages, reels, and news stories. All compete for our attention, which is becoming an increasingly scarce resource. This is especially true of teens growing up in the global West, who we can observe at the outset of Escape the Noise as they text one another in the dark: “You up?” “Really need to talk to you right now.” “Did you hear what happened?”

Performed by Shoreline Theater Academy, Kidz Connection, a cast of 14 embody a diversity and range of experiences as a class at the fictitious STAKK High School. Not only are they reeling from the recent death of one of their friends, whose story is revealed steadily, but they are also dealing with the prospect of an upcoming outdoor educational event, which has a strictly no-phones policy.

The piece is full of endearing moments, such as when two friends attempt to commit to memory a starry night without the use of their cameras. The stage is transformed easily through effective use of choreography and song, and this aids the delivery of the play’s core message: that it is possible to forge and maintain meaningful connections in a world of hyper-connectivity.

JOSEPHINE BALFOUR-OATTS

until 6 August

Forget-Me-Not

Greenside @ George St (Venue 236)

★★★☆☆

In Forget-Me-Not, Julie Lake (known for playing Angie Rice in the American comedy-drama television series Orange is the New Black) and singer-songwriter Annie Macleod navigate the chaos and wonders of new motherhood. Using autobiographical details, the pair explore the intimacies of pregnancy – including, but not limited to, preeclampsia, nausea, vomiting, and incontinence – as well as topics like abortion, miscarriage, and ethical non-monogamy.

Original music provides a haunting mixture of jazz and folk, and their voices blend exquisitely despite holding often-conflicting viewpoints – not least regarding the compatibility of motherhood and artistry. It is a gentle theatrical experience, right down to the softness of the lighting and the delivery of dialogue between songs. The overall effect is soothing, as if being held in a sling, or swaddled.

Ultimately, this is the story of the show, and how it came bravely into being. Their timeline approaches the present like a wave approaching the shore – Julie’s sinus infection is real, as is their jetlag – and there is no pretence in their reflections as they take stock. They are in Edinburgh; they are in their 40s. They are artists, mothers, and friends. It is sometime in late summer, and most importantly of all, they are loved.

JOSEPHINE BALFOUR-OATTS

until 9 August

Anatomy of Pain

theSpace @ Surgeons Hall (Venue 53)

★★★☆☆

Alex (Klara Grapci-Germizaj) does not simply live with pain, she lives IN pain. Based on writer-director Aoife Parr’s experience living with chronic illness due to an undiagnosed case of Ehlers-Danos Syndrome (EDS) — a condition where your joints move too easily and too quickly — this is an unusually disciplined show that sometimes holds the audience at arm’s length. Parr uses poetic language to describe Alex’s pain, which can be slippery to relate to. However, this is perhaps intentional as Alex’s doctors and psychiatrist (all played by Will Kirk) also struggle to understand or even believe her (EDS is often misdiagnosed as hypochondria).

There’s an interesting formalism to the staging as Alex and her various physicians stand at mics as far part as the stage will allow, unable to come to an agreement between lived experience and medical theory. If this makes proceedings a little dry — and it does — it brings a forensic element to a story that deals with suicidal ideation and despair. Both performers equip themselves extremely well and if there’s a lack of emotional involvement then perhaps that’s the point. It’s an illustration of the dissociative effects of pain that sometimes seems aimed more towards the medical profession than a general audience.

RORY FORD

until 9 August

Dial 1 for UK

Greenside @ Riddles Court (Venue 16)

★★★☆☆

“The mass of men live lives of quiet desperation,” wrote Thoreau. For Uday Kumar, as a new immigrant to England from India, his life is more desperate than most — not that you’d necessarily know it. As winningly performed by Mohit Mathur, Uday is a lively, ingratiating presence, as eager to please the audience as the retired British gentlefolk he’s employed to care for. In truth, it’s not that different from his previous job in India as a phone operative for a crypto company; gaining people’s trust with constant chatter, anxious to keep the conversation going lest desperation slip in during one of the silences.

This one-man show coasts well enough on Mathur’s charm initially but it’s only when he lets the facade begin to slip that it really engages. Without ever truly losing sight of his character’s sense of optimism he shades Kumar’s personality (the initials “UK” are no accident) to show what men living lives of quiet desperation might feel driven to. Purists may balk at Mathur’s use of AI generated images to help set scenes but at least it’s consistent with Kumar’s circumstances; forced to live by his wits — and Chat GPT — in a foreign land.

RORY FORD

until 9 August

READ MORE: Kanpur: 1857 preview: Fringe show about Indian rebellion has 'unavoidable' parallel

Summer Fling

theSpace @ Niddry St (Venue 9)

★★★☆☆

The exploitative nature of reality dating shows is effectively skewered in this likeable new comedy from writer/director Grace Donaldson. Four young hopefuls arrive on an island looking forward to a summer of “sun, short shorts and semen” — and if that strikes you as a tad rude then you’re probably not going to vibe with the endearingly vulgar energy of this Student Theatre at Glasgow production. The performances go a long way to make this; George Rogers horrendous “landlord-slash-influencer” Aaron is nicely complemented by Erin Bruff’s charming “beta-male” farmer, Ollie. Lola Gibbons imbues Maisie with a neurotic Irish crackle that sparks well off the laid-back arrogance of Savannah Merriwether’s “Chlamydia Barbie” Donna. While this often resembles a series of sketches on a theme rather than a play — a more rigid sense of structure and plot would not go amiss — this has the good sense to keep the scenes short and snappy so there’s still a real sense of pace even without real narrative drive. It admirably has no truck with subtlety and the talented cast manage to imbue this with a frenetic — almost cartoon — energy that can sell the crudest gags.

RORY FORD

until 9 August

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