To Watch A Man Eat – Shakespeare North Playhouse

One of the things I love about reviewing theatre is the wide variety of productions you get to see, and the many evenings spent engaged with the artistic endeavour of others. Rarely is it boring, usually it’s very engaging and occasionally, if you are lucky, something blows you away and you think ‘I am so glad I got to see that’. Last night, as part of the Heading North Fringe Festival at Shakespeare North Playhouse, the latter was my experience.

Full Frontal Theatre’s To Watch A Man Eat is a powerful, dynamic, mesmerizingly brutal piece of theatre which explores desire, control and ambition in a sharply funny and intelligently observed narrative.

Presented throughout as direct narration to audience we initially meet Micky (George Usher) who recounts the story of serial monogamist Jemima. It is sharp yet sweet, she is cleverly dumb and his lyrical, playful and beautifully timed delivery immediately sucks us into his tale. He is deeply engaging and immediately likeable. When the barbarous punchline is delivered, we are stunned, smacked in the face, horrified… and oh, so ready for more.

And so, we meet Andrew (George Lorimer) and his wife Melissa (Lily Walker). Young, ambitious, privileged, entitled and to be honest, pretty foul. It is their story that we follow for the hour-long onslaught into which we are fully absorbed. Melissa is initially dislikable, controlling, selfish and smug. Walker develops her into the monster she really is with no shame, no punches pulled and with a charmingly grotesque and impressively skilled performance. Andrew is an arsehole. The kind of smug, financier boy who I can only describe as a fist magnet. Living off the success of his self-made father and having received every advantage in life he describes himself as ‘second generation working-class’ which I found both horrific and hilarious in equal measure – part sharp and funny writing, part perfect delivery.

And that is what makes this piece of theatre not good, not great but truly excellent. Sadie Pearson writes like a demon. She is funny, clever, perceptive and sharp and it is an intoxicating combination. It is no surprise that she already has her next play in development as runner up winner of the Alpine Fellowship Playwriting Prize – she has a voice, is not afraid to use it. Co-directing with Hen Ryan, the pair have cast a trio of superb actors who understand their material and utilise the superbly written characters to stunning effect.  Direction is stylishly economic and well judged.

The sparsely but deeply effectively lighting and set design, using red and black, the Scorpionic colours of sex and death, gives a seductive hue and impact.

Producer Grace Shropshire leads is a strong team and I suspect they will take Edinburgh by storm. If you are lucky enough to be up there this summer, see this production; it’s brutally brilliant.

Reviewer: Lou Kershaw

Reviewed: 10th July 2024

North West End UK Rating:

To Watch A Man Eat will play at the Greenside Studios, George Street, Edinburgh 2^nd – 10^th August at 6.20pm as part of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on#q=%22To%20Watch%20a%20Man%20Eat%22