Pleasance Courtyard – Bunker Three
Aug 16-27 (19:15)
Non Omnis Moriar
NYC based comedian Chloe Radcliffe has built a courageous and thought-provoking show entitled ‘Cheat’ for her Edinburgh debut. Radcliffe has the glow of a natural comic, putting the room at ease and allowing her to explore edgy subjects.
She’s cute and commanding, with charismatic delivery and tremendous wit. She has a large birthmark on her face and makes an endearing subject of it early in the show, showing that she’s used to carving out a tone of authenticity and comfort, preparing the ground for vulnerable sharing.
And vulnerable she gets as she deconstructs, for your curiosity and education, a social taboo – cheating. This time, from the cheater’s perspective, her own. The second half of the show, contrasts the first, as it might begin in the classic New York, ‘public therapy session’ style, but soon becomes something altogether more revealing and generous.
She’s laying bare a side of herself that is rare to see from people and least of all publically. She brings the show to a poignant climax, still maintaining the humour despite an increasingly serious tone. Tears well in her eyes as she reveals that cheating is complex and confusing, leaving the perpetrator carrying much self-doubt and a lot to process.
I spent the next few hours wondering the city contemplating my own experience when I was cheated on out of high school. She shares an anonymous hotline after the show, where you can tweet or text your experiences and she will share them on her socials to generate discussion. She seems to genuinely be wanting to connect and give something more to her audience.
In the end, the show was a defence of romance, not an undermining of it. Radcliffe spoke of being single and wanting another relationship – someone again to “get in the cage with”. It felt like for a brief moment, she was daring to share her cage with us. And that takes a special kind of comic.
Stuart Bruce
Mumble Comedy 