Showing @ Spotlites @ The Merchant’s Hall, Edinburgh until Sun 25 Aug @ 17:50

There are moments during Maisah Sobaihi’s show where you feel you might be watching ‘The Real Housewives of Jeddah.” The characters she portrays in her vignettes certainly represent the more elite sections of Saudi society. However this doesn’t make this chance to get a new perspective on into a country we know only in the narrowest of ways any less interesting.

In this show we find out about secret marriages, summer marriages and second marriages all from the female perspective. Given the portrayals in our media of the submissive state of women in the Kingdom, the feisty and formidable characters Sohaihi portrays – all based on her real friends – are as far removed from our preconceptions as could be imagined.

Unfortunately outside of enlightening us about the culture this is no more than an average and on occasion self-indulgent performance piece. The scenes are a little too long and Sobaihi adds too much colour which can grate, however she is an engaging presence when chatting to the audience and her desire to challenge what they think they know about her homeland is clear, and for the most part she succeeds in opening their eyes.