Edinburgh Fringe
Pleasance Courtyard – Rear Courtyard
20^th – 22^nd, , 24^th – 29^th Aug, 2021

I made my way up North Bridge Edinburgh for a fringe show 2021 called Skank. I was very pleased by the venue. It was a very large marquee but with three sides open to the elements, the elements being a forest behind the stage, it was just what I needed. There were many blue seats right up to the back and a nice looking good sized stage, framed with plants and flowers.

Clementine Bogg – Hargroves took to set as Kate; a character played out in a denim skirt and fish net tights. There was a table/desk that took the role of office for the first scene. Her dialogue was written in a cavalcade of comedy, filled with all her stories about the life she was living, mainly centred on work and boys. She fancied a character she called sexy Gary, there were many voices she would talk to over a tannoy, a skilled performance.

Her tight comments were made with humour, grace and youthful sexiness. She had a great sense of showmanship, theatrical acumen and complete confidence as an actor really throwing herself into the role as though she was just being herself. She took us through, office work (she said, I don’t do anything there), office relationships, and going out at night.

She made her way around the stage with an accent clear and ringing. While pausing for moments of tinnitus that caused her trouble and stopped the performance. The table funnily doubled up as a stirrup doctor’s bed for her smear test scene that had whoops and great laughter from the audience. She looked at us on her back with such a witty look as to really connect with us, understanding her amazing powers of comedic enthrallment.

The story was resplendently comprised, and we sat as though there was no effort to the performance. There was a staff night out where she with humour imagined that she pulled Gary (her dream guy). That was a scene of sensual celebration as she kissed and hugged herself, feeling totally flattered, but it was just a dream.

After mentioning cancer we realised that the purpose of her smear test was to test for cancer. Her brilliant personality was then devastated as she feared the worse, breaking down in grief. Her young persona had to contemplate the idea of death that was all she could think of.

So we could imagine her joy when her results came back negative, we joined her in her celebration. She took to the stage as one but had the act of many. The tannoy conversations completed an effect of coming together, with her act showing a sense of humanity through the eyes of someone young and new. Skank must be a term of endearment and so we were endeared.

Daniel Donnelly