Showing @ Summerhall, Edinburgh until Sun 25 Aug @ 12:30
The Fringe is awash with astonishing solo performances this year, but Silvia Gallerano still manages to stand out from the crowd in this reprise of last year’s hit. La Merda may not be your favourite show – indeed it is likely to be one of the least comfortable – but it is undeniably powerful.
Gallerano perches on an oversized stool which emphasises her vulnerability: she is, as she tells us, “a small one”. But she has big dreams and an insatiable hunger for recognition. And as this craving drives her to desperate lengths, it begs the question of how far we will go to satisfy our appetites and at what point does the unthinkable become palatable?
Cristian Ceresoli‘s play is an impassioned fight for the very soul of Italy, a country riddled with problems that its people have learned to stomach even whilst the British middle classes idealise a Mediterranean lifestyle. La Merda offers a desperate cry for help and an unforgettable central performance.
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