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Underbelly, Cowgate – Belly Laugh
In a flawless and nuanced performance McCann delivers an inspirational account of her journey of self-discovery, her fantasies and the embellished fictions we create for ourselves. Summary
Rating
Unmissable!
Abby McCann weaves her way through the audience, flirtatiously making eye contact as she goes, before taking centre stage. There’s a pause as she looks around, quietly exuding confidence. In that moment I lean forward in expectation as I have a suspicion this is going to be good. And it turns out that good is an understatement.
McCann’s performance starts with a description of first meeting her tutor at university. She has done no preparation, obviously, she’ll wing it: she’s bright, what can he possibly tell her anyway? She is appalled when he rejects her thesis proposal as being flaky and ill thought through. Clearly, he says, she doesn’t know anything about her topic. He sends her away to get her act together over the Christmas break, asking her to return better prepared in the spring term. Naturally she does not do this. Instead she talks to a multitude of people who have worked with him previously in order to confirm her suspicion that he is in the wrong and undoubtedly sexist.
What follows is a fluent and nimble account of the resulting events. Well, the events that follow in Abby’s mind. Conversations that are had, eye contact that is made, decisions her tutor makes to take notice of her. She wins him over: he is smitten. There is a thrilling undercurrent of forbidden and unrequited desire. Throughout all of this McCann delivers the beautifully constructed narrative fluidly, seamlessly engaging her body with voice and words. Coquettish at times, confident at others, she is the embodiment of the action.
With little break for breath, the story of Abby’s life continues. Her relationships are built up through a series of tableaux, each achingly curated and littered with hints of conversations and insinuations. With the lightest of touches romance is evident at every turn and Abby is desired and beautiful, wise and considered: the best person she can be.
I am some way though the play when I realise most of this is the figment of McCann’s imagination: the scenarios she has built up are imagined, the result of developing a plot long after an actual encounter has taken place. The twists and turns are all a fiction of which she is the star. And my first thought? Affirmation. At least I am not the only person to do this! And then: genius! Who needs counselling, or reality for that matter, when your inner monologue and imagination can be so fruitful? Not only does it allow her safely to navigate her own personality and desires, she is firmly in control of her own happiness.
This performance is a rare combination of excellence in both writing and acting. The script is so deft, so clever, so articulate that you are joyfully swept along on a sea of words from the first moment. The performance by McCann is always in the third person and she inhabits a number of characters, moving flawlessly through each sequence of emotions and actions in what feels like an intimate connection with just you. Set and lighting are minimally deployed, highlighting the prowess of McCann’s delivery alongside foreboding musical undertones when needed.
This is Cesca Echlin’s debut script, which is almost unbelievable. I look forward to her next projects.
Written and directed by: Cesca Echlian
Produced by: Mathilda Wood for That What’s Wild
Looking For Giants has completed its current run at Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
