REVIEW: Meteors, The CRAM Collective, EdFringe 2026 ★★

Meteors showers a spirited portrayal over the audience at Summerhall. You leave moved, although slightly disappointed at the unoriginal manner of storytelling at points. There is limited scope with the one-person show it seems: often they fall into the same tropes, tick the same boxes. This one sadly underperforms.

Meteors is performed solely by Aussie writer Melissa Pullinger, who travelled back to the UK from Australia to make her story of heartfelt love and horrifying grief known to the world. She weaves the story with growing empowerment and strength, shedding light on her counselling, and navigating accessibility needs with a parent who is wheelchair-bound and struggling.

This is clearly a story which means a lot to Pullinger, who gives all she’s got in this production to bring focus to her mother. She serves as a reminder of the spirit that lives through dramatic situations of grief and this play acts as a firm reminder that life will prevail despite death. 

That said, the show could be packaged in a clearer way. Sporadic links to meteors feel shoehorned into the piece, and this comes across as a generic writing technique for the single-hander, where the playwright spotlights a motif and returns to it throughout. Using meteors amongst other metaphors of the sky to symbolise death feels cliché when discussing death and the piece ought to look for an alternative through-line in an otherwise fascinating story.

Sound design by Will Spartalis works brilliantly. It offers ghostly undertones, with electronic drone notes, and simplistic ethereal melodies which provide the perfect backing. Direction by Connor Reidy is well thought-out and Pullinger uses the space effectively, never restricted to one area. A masterful approach towards the difficult task of spacing a single-hander. 

There is a communal audience frustration in the majority level tone which Pullinger employs. Her uptight, anxious voice, along with her constant annoyance means that there is little room for nuance or variation in the way that the story is relayed. Light humour helps you settle, but from the off, this production feels too heavy, leaving you searching for some light-heartedness within it.

What this fervent performer does well is emotion. Pullinger leaves the audience spellbound due to her passion and drive. Tears flow and the audience are collectively moved at the play’s close. After the show, audience members scoured backstaged in search of the performer, keen to offer praise and understand her story further. 

Some development and a unique storytelling spin would propel this play to excellence. Nevertheless, Meteors is still a shooting star in the sky at Summerhall. 

Recommended Drink: A Pornstar Martini

Catch Meteors at Summerhall, Women’s Locker Room from August 10-31 (Not 17, 24) at 21.00 (60mins). Tickets are available through the EdFringe Box Office.