Red Like Fruit
Strong female voices are all around on this year’s Fringe but ironically one of the most insightful, nuanced narratives is read by a man. This is Hannah Moscovitch’s Red Like Fruit **** at the Traverse. Reporting on a domestic abuse trial, journalist Lauren finds herself combing over her past, revisiting inappropriate sexual encounters in the light of the he said/she said testimony in court. However, she asks a man, Luke, to read her carefully weighted words to the audience while she sits in a chair reacting to her memories. This literal ceding of her voice is uncomfortable for all concerned but the story she tells is riveting. Lauren is not sure what she makes of her experiences; the listener may have a clearer take.
Red Like Fruit, 13.30 Traverse, until August 24
https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/red-like-fruit
Chat Sh*t, Get Hit
Martha Pailing will certainly not be silenced. Within seconds of opening her show Chat Sh*t, Get Hit **** at Summerhall, she is baying like a hound, impersonating the family dog. This is the howl she has internalised since a break-up knocked her sideways and her ex kicked her while she was down. Now she claims to be angry 53% of the time and wants to highlight the neglected subject of female rage, specifically her own, and its physical and psychological ramifications. Conventional wisdom suggests that women turn their anger on themselves. Pailing wants us to let it all out and join her in exorcising the things that make us seethe.
Chat Sh*t, Get Hit, 17.20 Summerhall, until August 25
https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/chat-sh-t-get-hit
Lady Macbeth Played Wing Defence
There’s hubble bubble toil and trouble on the netball court in Australian musical Lady Macbeth Played Wing Defence **** at Assembly George Square Studios as Mac plots to become captain of the Dunsinane Hellhounds, despite Coach Duncan’s determination to overlook her for a succession of her teammates. Classic quotes from Macbeth are lobbed into the court while pink pop trio The Dagger Divas fuel Mac’s vaulting ambition with their prophetic tunes but this smart Shakespearean spin is closer to Disney/High School Musical teen angst territory, energetically performed by a boss eight-strong ensemble.
Lady Macbeth Played Wing Defence, 16.15, Assembly George Square Studios, until August 25
https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/lady-macbeth-played-wing-defence
