REVIEW: Play Dead, Betyl Theatre, EdFringe 2026 ★★★★

Lights up. Bare stage, save a dog crate, a singular grapefruit, and assorted sound equipment. Billed as a dark comedy/modern myth, Play Dead takes these sparse elements and constructs a visceral theatrical world with real impact.

After a messy break-up, a heartbroken Echo decides that the best way to break no-contact is to kidnap his ex’s dog, Scotland, and wait for his ex to call in a panic. As Scotland hides in the dog crate, Echo hides behind his charisma, charming the audience and confessing just enough to endear himself to us. But the longer he waits for the call, the looser his grip on reality, and his comic facade begins to slip, revealing darkness, insecurity, and a striking depth of pain.

Bailey Edwards’ performance is truly remarkable. Vulnerable, magnetic, and genuinely funny, he captures our attention and doesn’t let go for the whole hour. Chimerical, he is by turns unsettling, carnally ripping into grapefruits and spitting venomous insults, and defenseless, reminiscing about his lost love or (avoiding) talking about his isolation. All of this is done with a light touch, never verging into caricature or melodrama. You get the sense that no matter the material, he could make it compelling. And lucky for us, the material is already compelling enough.

Ellie Isherwood’s innovative sound design helps the larger-than-life performance to fill the sparse stage even further, creating reverberations and ambience that by turns highlight and obfuscate Echo’s true feelings. Indeed, the sound design functions almost as another character at times, giving Echo something more to bounce off of. The props and set are also neatly used, never superfluous to requirements but allowing for the representation of a bed, a grapefruit tree, and a yoga studio as suits Echo’s storytelling.

Play Dead  is beautifully written, with a complexity rarely found in a writing debut. Echo’s character is heightened, flitting between casual contemporary language and harsh mythic prose, remaining grounded in his precise characterisation throughout. Some of the strongest elements of the piece lie in the contemporisation of Ovid’s Metamorphoses, and my sole complaint is that I wish Edwards had woven the mythic elements more deeply into the script right from the start of the play, and made certain emotional throughlines more apparent from the outset. Overall, however, the piece was powerful, masterfully composed of intelligent writing, exceptional acting, and atmospheric sound design, painting a deeply affecting portrait.

An intricate exploration of the ways in which love (or the lack thereof) changes us, Play Dead is a singular piece of new writing, infusing contemporary myth with humour, grit, and yearning.

Drink recommendation: A Lonkero – bubbly, sharp, and sweet (and everywhere this Fringe!).

You can catch Play Dead at Iron Belly at Underbelly Cowgate from 5-30 Aug (not 18) at 15:40 (60 mins). Tickets are available through the EdFringe Online Box Office.