Jake Mace
Garden Party describes itself as a ‘mysterious’ investigation of its eponymous writer, Truman Capote. Mysterious is one word – elusive, unconventional, and decidedly immersive might be others. This piece aims to situate itself within a Capote-inspired party where a varying menagerie of guests offer up their perspectives on the life of the aforementioned bon vivant, novelist, screenwriter, and actor. Rather than engage, it alienates, and forgives little of its audience.
It’s entirely unclear when this piece started or stopped for its audience, which I’m far from against in theory. The house lights are up for the majority of the performance as our hosts weave their way in between the very tight gangways and rows to badger audience members with stories about the subjects of Capote’s novels. As comes to light through the loosely defined narrative, Capote was well known for adapting the life stories of others to his own artistic and financial benefit, leaving many of those individuals in the lurch, with occasionally devastating circumstances.
We’re repeatedly reminded throughout the duration of this piece that we are at a ‘party’, not a show, yet few elements of the piece indicated that our hosts had interests beyond imparting their own retrospective on Capote. Moments of audience interaction continually fell flat – invitations to dance with our hosts swiftly declined, and jarring questions such as “how would you do away with your partner?” left with confusion. There was an initial buzz in the room as we were invited to don masquerade masks that fell sharply once it became apparent this was a thin façade to indulge a series of repeated, barraging, and cliched spoken word segments about how we all wear masks in society, with little depth or servitude to the onlooker’s experience.
There’s a grating sense of repetition within these spoken word sections that comes across condescendingly – we’re told again and again about the essence of contradiction, yet the piece lacks nuance to explore what those terms mean in the light of Capote’s life. Instead we’re briefed on some moments from some of the lives of the subjects of his novels through frivolously-devised and narratively-fraught storytelling moments often played from the back of the room. We don’t see these people as rounded, but as caricatures mimicked by our hosts.
Thankfully, there’s enough verve and passion injected by the performers to make you care. While one member of the team attempts shadow puppetry with a torch and a mask to try, the others do their best with the bizarre source material to impart some wisdom from what lies within this show’s core concept. While the stories are too discombobulated from a sense of pathos to impact, the performances on show offer a sly wink and nod to Hollywood glamour and nebulous intentions on all sides.
What should it mean that the show was themed in black and white? Alas, I have no answer, because it never came up.
While I can’t promise you’ll leave engaged with this piece, you’ll experience something entirely different by giving it a go. It didn’t hit much of a note, but it was formally unique and presented with vitality and sparkle.
Recommended Drink: Pair this with Capote’s favourite, a Screwdriver – pungent and freshly squeezed.
Performances of Garden Party – Truman Capote’s Black and White Celebration have now concluded at EdFringe 2025.
Lamesha Ruddock
Jasmine Silk
