Paul T Davies reviews Richard Gadd's Baby Reindeer presented by Roundabout at Summerhall as part of the Edinburgh Fringe.
Baby Reindeer Roundabout at Sumerhall, Edinburgh Festival Fringe
9 August 2019
4 Stars
Richard Gadd won the Edinburgh Comedy Award for his show Monkey See Monkey Do, but since then his life has taken on a frightening and sinister turn. No stand up comedy here, he creates and tells us about his stalker, the hell she put him through, and his struggle to be taken seriously- MEN don't get stalked right! A further layer is his openness about being raped and his relationship with a non hetronormative partner and his uncertainty over his sexual orientation. Men are talking at the Fringe, and this is a powerful piece.
Gadd does not perform alone, his stalker is represented by a bar stool, but the superb projections bring her to life with examples of the thousands of texts, emails, messages, interviews with those close to Gadd and his family. It is terrifying what happened to him, and the frenzy builds. I admired his honesty and openness, and he is an engaging performer. Throughout he stressed that she needed help, but lack of effective care support is another strong topic at this Fringe.
It took him two and a half years to get a restraining order against her in place, underlining how differently men, hide bound by traditional constructions of masculinity. That Gadd is breaking out of those traditions and talking about it is to be commended. She must not contact him in person, but he still has to avoid the emails and messages. I wish him well, and now I need to see his stand up! A powerful piece, well worth seeing.
Paul is a playwright, director, actor, academic, (he has a PhD from the University of East Anglia), teacher and theatre reviewer! His plays include Living with Luke, (UK tour 2016), Play Something, (Edinburgh Festival Fringe/Drayton Arms Theatre, London 2018), , (2019), and now The Miner’s Crow, which won the inaugural Artist’s Pick of the Fringe Award at the first ever Colchester Fringe Festival 2021. In lockdown 2020 he created the audio series Isolation Alan, available on Youtube, and performed online in the Voice Box Festival. He is the founder member of Stage Write, a Colchester based theatre company, and his acting roles include Rupert in How We Love by Annette Brook, first performed at the Vaults Festival 2020 and revived at the Arcola and at Theatre Peckham in 2021. Follow: @stagewrite_
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