When Mary (writer Emily Knutsson) becomes single at the same time as a student at Cambridge University, she decides to put one above the other and concentrate on her studies through a year of abstinence, or medieval Monasticism.
The show’s conceit begins right from the entrance music (a Medieval Bardcore version of Candy Shop – I know because the same recording amusingly has the same function in the Fringe show I had just come from doing), continuing through to the structuring around the sixth-century Rules of Saint Benedict, and the naming of characters and pseudonyms after religious figures, Christian (Mary, Joseph…) or otherwise (Pan, Poseidon…).
The staging is simple, with Mary moving between the chair we meet her on to the table and the power-point presentation on the screen upstage. The set-up is a professional pitch-meeting which, as a framing device, does a Taming of The Shrew (but not a Taming of A Shrew) and vanishes early on, making it feel like an unnecessary (albeit harmless) addition to the performance/audience relationship. Knutsson has an engaging presence, easily building complicity with the audience, and is unafraid of vulnerability in her writing.
While the script explains any course or university specific jargon or geography, it still feels somewhat tailored towards a student audience with some of its non-rhetorical questions and assumptions. However, the core of the show, dealing with work vs private life, bad relationships both platonic and not, should strike a chord with most audiences at this engaging and engrossing first show.
Me and My Year of Casual Monasticism is running at Pickle Studio at Greenside @ Riddles Court until the 23rd August. Tickets can be found at: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/me-and-my-year-of-casual-monasticism
Reviewer: Oliver Giggins
Reviewed: 2nd August 2025
North West End UK Rating: