Review: Meet Fred, York Theatre Royal

From the moment that Fred’s three puppeteers (Nick Halliwell, Llŷr Williams, and Jennie Rawling) take him out of his box and breathe life into his little cloth body, he is immediately embodied and alive in a fabulously seamless (ha ha!) way. The character of The Director (Owen Pugh) describes Fred as a “blank slate”, ready to be turned into whatever the narrative of his life demands, but it’s hard to agree with that assertion when Fred has so much personality. Nervous limbs and poor balance, emphatic gestures and pointed foot-taps of impatience all come together into one very lively two-foot-tall man, on a mission to find out what he wants to do and who he wants to be.

The way that mission is explored is through jumping between scene concepts, described in mind-map bubbles on the back wall. Sitting and waiting for the show to begin, I tried to read the points around each bubble for clues about how the show might proceed, but even with that extra information the plot remained surprising and engaging at every turn. (Only about half of the bubbles ended up coming into play, which definitely helped.) Beyond the wall, the set is minimal – two big black boxes, wheeled about by stage manager Martin (Gareth John), and a few potted plants are all that is needed to create the majority of scenarios in which Fred finds himself.

The disability metaphor woven throughout the show is not hard to miss. Fred must navigate the horrors of the benefits system, unable to get a job that pays too well, lest he end up with less money in the long run: “It’s easier for you if we don’t pay you,” The Director tells him, and it’s the perfect distillation of how absurd the hoops to jump through can end up being. A potential date (Lindsay Spellman) dismisses Fred out of hand for being a puppet, and when she does attempt to give the guy a chance, all her compliments are directed towards his mobility aid Right Arm And Back Man (Williams) rather than the puppet himself. The Director ultimately argues that everything bad which has happened to Fred today has been his own fault, even though we know that he’s the one who has a copy of the script of Fred’s life, which Fred was not permitted to look at – how could any of this be his fault, if he didn’t write it, and he hasn’t read it?! It’s the kind of injustice that makes those of us who have a harder time simply existing in a world that’s not designed for us want to scream, and the featureless Fred is the perfect reflection of those feelings. About half of the cast are neurodivergent and/or learning disabled, so Fred’s anger surely comes from a place of experience.

Meet Fred sits comfortably in front of the fourth wall, constantly pitting creator against character, with multiple audience interactions, even having an actor “drop out of role” entirely at the end when the stakes all ramp right up to eleven at once. The serious subject matter is skillfully balanced against the jokes, like a cheery whistling theme song playing over the staging of a suicide attempt; the tone, unlike Fred, never quite loses its footing.

It’s often ridiculous, ultimately sincere, and concludes with a rallying cry of “f**k the director!” advocating chasing off anyone that tries to tell you what you can or can’t be; who thinks it’s boring if you’re simply happy – in favour of finding your own legs and forging your own path forward.

You can read more about ten years of Meet Fred in our recent interview with Director Ben Pettitt-Wade.

Director: Ben Pettitt-Wade
Production Manager: Tom Ayres
Producer: Ellis Wrightbrook
Lighting Designer: Ceri James
Music: Jonathan Dunn
Puppetry Dramaturgs (of Blind Summit): Tom Espiner & Giulia Innocenti
Original Devising Cast: Lindsay Foster, Dan McGowan, Richard Newnham, Craig Quat, Morgan Thomas & Martin Vick
R&D Devisors: Jon Dafydd-Kidd, Denni Dennis, Ellen Groves & Hijinx South Academy 1

Meet Fred plays at York Theatre Royal until Thursday 2 April and continues touring the UK until Friday 5 June.