The Fringe can be fringe in the way that you can dare to be bizarre. But it’s also fringe in the sense that you can dare to tell stories of painful truth. Groomed brings child sexual abuse from the fringe to the fore, told from from a man who is as much a little boy as he is a jaded survivor. Refusing to be stifled by the shackles around taboo subject matter, performer and writer Patrick Sandford puts his duty before his apologetic shame to tell his painful truth.
A lone saxophonist indicates the beginning of the show as Sandford swiftly commands the space. Flitting between the role of victim and perpetrator, the actor’s physicality securely guides the audience through the illusion of two actors on stage. As an older actor his portrayal of a young boy was particularly memorable, as the quality of performance itself proves what the show tried to say about the wounded child within that lives on, long after tragedy. The actor’s performance entirely enables the show’s potency in its impact.
Entirely and thickly coated in flowery, buttery, poetically conceived language, the landscape of the show’s consistent monologues are textured and full of nooks and crannies. It’s accompanied by the lone saxophonist, a fully necessary addition to the soundscape, further punctuating, texturing and enriching the show’s meaning. The show is a feast for ears. But far from merely telling the audience what was happening, the performer utilized the mini world of furniture and props to paint pictures one man normally can’t.
By the end of the show, from what I heard, saw on the stage and in my mind, I was thoroughly horrified at the rate that taboo prevents the discussion and prevention of life threatening suffering. A personal story of child sexual abuse, only made more moving by the careful artistry of its telling, is a poignant way to highlight the humanity shrouded and hidden away by shame. I can only feel gratitude to the performer, for the innate courage it took to say something huge, to feel something huge, time and time again in front of an audience. To strip down so honestly to the world and hope to be seen, not looked at. It was a sacrifice the world owes their eyes, ears and hearts to.
At the end of the show, he opens a discussion to anyone who would like to stay. I realized there is so much to be done. Prevention of a life ruined comes down to having resources for the people who want to commit harm. We see humanity in the abused, but recognising the humanity in (potential) perpetrators is how we help them live a life that does not unravel another. Groomed is important, and I hope its trajectory exhibits to the world how art can heal, art can solve and art can change. Here at the Fringe, you have a chance to be a part of this art.
Groomed
13:30 @ Pleasance Dome – AceDome
Aug 4-8, 10-15, 17-22, 24-28
