Showing @ Hawke + Hunter -30th Aug 18:00 1h30m 16+
Notions of love and legacy dominate Ella Hickson’s Hot Mess, a new site-specific play written especially for its venue, Hawke + Hunter Below Stairs, one of Edinburgh’s newest and most popular night spots. Comprised of music, memory and doomed love, this piece presents a scathing comment on the current state of romance and seduction on the receding shores of an unnamed island community.
Taking place in a bar underground, Hot Mess tells the story of estranged twins Rolo (Michael Whitham) and Twitch (Gwendolen Chatfield) who share a heart, as they reunite after a long separation to celebrate their 25th birthday. But the reunion unearths some previously untold truths, and soon the sibling’s painful past grievances and inescapable destiny lead the night to an unexpected and dark conclusion.
Written and directed by Hickson, Hot Mess is the follow up to her previous Fringe successes, the Fringe First winning Eight, and Precious Little Talent. Combining a live DJ with acoustic music from the cast, the collective and eclectic sounds of the club were the perfect accompaniment to Hickson’s flowing, poetic language. Peppered with themes of loneliness, vengeance and innocence, this is a heartbreaking and mesmerising play that celebrates the extremes of human emotion, and the lengths we will go to in order to be loved. Performed by an exceptionally talented cast, in an experimental space, Hot Mess is a witty and unforgiving look at our changing attitudes towards modern relationships, where the once uniform ideals of commitment and sex as part of a loving relationship are becoming increasingly alien. Honestly performed with an unrelenting energy and beautiful integrity, this is an example of new writing that not only lives up to, but goes well beyond the hype. One of the highlights of the Fringe this year, this is a thought-provoking and gently constructed emotional experience.