The Last Show Before We Die
Ed Fringe 2023
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Ed Fringe 2023 -
Entering the beautiful Roundabout theatre, critically acclaimed duo Mary Higgins and Ell Potter (who together make up Hotter Project) are lying on the floor, mummified in ripped tights, looking like crash test dummies that have seen their fair share of crash tests. When the show begins they start to reanimate, slowly and jerkily attempting to rise to their feet - after three years off stage, this is their resurrection.
I’ve seen both of their last two live shows, Hotter and Fitter, shows in which they interview an array of people around a theme; for Hotter they quizzed women and non-binary people between the ages of 11 and 97 about what makes them hot, for Fitter they were asking men, and masculine-presenting people aged 8 to 102 about what makes them hard. They then weave these often deeply illuminating interviews through a show stuffed full with tight lip-syncs, eclectic dance routines and half raucously-funny, half gently-philosophical dialogue.
This time they take this winning formula and apply it to the theme of endings. Something clearly on their minds as the IRL besties deliberate the pros and cons of ending their professional partnership, and moving out of their shared accommodation. They’ve conducted interviews with a number of people who might be more inclined than most to ruminate regularly on endings, including a therapist, a palliative care nurse, a midwife, a former addict and a grandfather.
It’s a beautiful and lovingly constructed performance, I was properly moved by a number of the sections - you’d have to have a heart of stone not to be. As with all of Mary and Ell’s shows I’m struck by the interviewee’s eagerness to talk about the big questions that we don’t bring up in every day life, questions that once brought up are expanded on with wit, eloquence and profound introspection. The final image that they craft, with the audience’s help, is a lasting one; reminiscent of Calvino’s city of Ersilia, it is a representation of all the links we make throughout our life, standing amongst them Mary and Ell deliver their final, heart-felt monologues and dance joyously into oblivion.
I sincerely hope this isn’t the last we see of Mary and Ell, I have followed their work for years now and it would be devastating to never watch them again…but if they’ve got to go out, at least they’re going out in style.
The Last Show Before We Die is on at The Roundabout @ Summerhall on Aug 9-14, 16-21, 23-27 - tickets available here.
FOUR STARS
Photo by Felix Mosse.
