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Camden Fringe 2023
Errol McGlashan’s magnetic one-man show immerses us in the unlikely friendship of two prisoners both trying desperately to escape their reality through either literature or narcotics.Summary
Rating
Good
The staging for Something to Take Off the Edge is as sparse as a prison cell. One man stands on stage, next to a table of books and a bucket. What unfolds is a one-man show following the lives of two prisoners in the 1980s, Ezra and Terry, set in a cell with only a bucket for a toilet. Their only comfort are Ezra’s books, some chocolate hobnobs and any narcotics they can procure.
Writer and actor Errol McGlashan throws us into the world of a high-security prison, with its unusual slang and strange characters. No exposition is provided, and the rules and language of this different world are learned as the show unfolds, which creates an almost immersive experience.
McGlashan is magnetic on stage: he gives each character a distinctive voice and mannerisms, bringing to life a complete cast through his performance alone and transcending the minimalist staging. I was transported to that prison cell through his performance and his tragi-comic writing, which is sharp, witty and dramatic.
The climax of the show strikes a note of grim seriousness. Despite the humour, we’re reminded that prison is a dark and unforgiving place. McGlashan’s dry minimal delivery of the bleak final scenes suits the sadly all too mundane nature of a death in prison, and the lack of bombast is notable. However, I did not feel the universality of the tragedy I had witnessed.
I remained at a distance from the characters, eavesdropping on their conversations, without getting underneath their skin. The show does not need huge personal biographies for the characters, but it does need a few more deft touches of characterisation for me to see myself in these two people, which would then elevate the climax from tragic to devastating.
The baseness of a show that is about life and death in an uncomfortable prison cell – including the bucket toilet – is offset by cerebral references to the great works of literature Ezra is reading, from William Shakespeare to J. D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye. Bringing these literary references into the prison setting and relating them to the characters’ situation makes them more relevant than simply dropping literary references.
Ezra’s love of literature is believable as an escape from the grimness of his incarceration, and McGlashan delivers a powerful rendition of King Henry’s “Once more unto the breach, dear friends” monologue from Henry V, which achieves both a specific and universal relevance.
As the title Something to Take Off the Edge suggests, this show explores drug use in prison but it tackles other social issues, including mental health, casual violence and the lack of literacy amongst prisoners. These important topics are woven into the story to blend seamlessly with the prison drama.
This play invites us into a different world. McGlashan draws on lived experience and delivers a powerful performance, which takes us inside the confines of this cell. Shakespeare’s words have the power to help Ezra escape prison, but for me, McGlashan’s words took me briefly inside the prison’s walls to observe what life is like on the inside.
Written and directed by: Errol McGlashan
Something To Take The Edge Off plays throughout August at various venues for Camden Fringe. A list of all venues and dates can be found here.
