Shay Mace
Some cynics would say that the Golden Age of Romcoms has long passed, and while those recently released on the silver screen can be of… varying quality… these five shows headed to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe grab you to ask – is there more to the romcom setup than just the ‘rom’ and the ‘com’? From uplifting trans body swap tales to climate activism and queerness colliding, these artists are boldly stepping out of the romcom comfort zone to raise attention for fascinating causes, and elevate unheard voices.
Take Cruising (Bunker Three at Pleasance Courtyard, Aug 5-31 (not 25), 12:50) as one of your most fervent examples, seeing a dancer and a climate activist meet over margaritas on a Mediterranean cruise, and watch as their sizzling attraction that seems like the perfect holiday fling dissolves when the pair realise they share more than just chemistry: both are in a relationship with the same person. Polyamory, climate crisis, and queerness come together in this hour-long lunchtime performance that looks like all the right doses of prescient, comic new writing.
Read our interview with Director Sophie Leydon here:
Carrying on exploring the intersections of queerness and civil rights, catch Boobytrapped (Space 2 at theSpace on the Mile, Aug 7-29 (not 16 or 23), 21:30), a trans bodyswap romcom that evokes all the best parts of Freaky Friday while being set in the bathrooms of your favourite gay club. After a heated encounter, a cis man and a trans man find themselves caught in a magical role reversal, in which they swap bodies with one another, and have to navigate one another’s lives and prejudices. An upbeat original soundtrack meets spirited performances from Binge Fringe Queer Performers Award Winner Freddie Haberfellner and Ermis Makides.
Check our interview with Freddie here:
Exploring the other end of relationships, character comedian Cecilia Corrigan brings The Gay Divorce (Willow Studio at Greenside @ Riddles Court, Aug 7-29 (not 16 or 23), 20:55), following a broken-hearted trophy wife, as her dream gay wedding disintegrates into a haunted, glitter-soaked cabaret of Barbie-dreamhouse rituals and romantic delusion. Cecilia tells us the show is for anyone who’s ever had a bad ex, used a credit card, who’s ever seen a convertible and thought: nice, or googled: am I gay?
British-Somali writer Hadsan Mohamud brings a tender, funny and honest story about identity, connection and the messy path to healing in CRUSH (Clover at Underbelly, Bristo Square, Aug 5-30 (not 17), 15:55). Two Somali teens. One awkward meet-cute. Najma has been in treatment for years. Zakariya’s just starting out. She sketches. He writes poems. Neither of them is ready to talk. Until they meet one another.
Finally, catch Sara Malinowski’s self-described ‘cross-country cabaret-play’ Girlfriends (Jade Studio at Greenside @ George Street, Aug 7-29 (not 16 & 23), 11:25). A road trip saga of two polar opposite strangers – turned classic boundary-less female besties. Sara ended up re-routing the story after an intervention from a group of Gen-Z first readers who found something else in between the lines, and the result will now head to Edinburgh across the Atlantic next month.
Check our interview with Sara here:
Dennis Elkins
