REVIEW: A Xerox of a Deer, The Horgles, EdFringe 2025 ★★★

Content Warning: Suicide.

Absurdist puppet theatre piece A Xerox of a Deer is a complex meditation on trans identity, the natural order, and the idea of belonging, utilising puppetry to bring the characters of a runaway farmer and a suicidal deer to life. 

Farmer Ída who feels like they have never belonged meets injured deer Cervus (the last of his kind) on a country road, fresh from a scrap with a car. The two strike up an unlikely friendship, connected by a shared feeling: they haven’t been feeling like themselves recently. They give a funeral to another animal who had gone down scrapping, help each other to come to terms with their individual searches for identity and belonging, and eventually, Cervus tries to teach Ída to scrap. But will Ída finally take action to shape their own life and identity for themselves, and will Cervus ever be able to curb his self-destructive instinct to scrap the passing cars?

Both actors deliver earnest and vulnerable performances, dutifully breathing life into their puppets with focus and commitment. Writer and performer Ceilbí plays Ída with wide-eyed wistfulness and deep sorrow, and Kyle Moss brings Cervus the deer to life and death with crotchety charm and indomitable spirit. The puppeteering was skillful, endearing and unnerving by turn, and the character design was impactful. Syd Baskind’s lighting design created the liminal space within which the play occurred with otherworldly wonder, dancing over the puppets and immersing the audience in the world of the play. 

The writing has moments of brilliance, carving out some incredibly striking images, and at points reaching right to the heart of a notion with a few simple words. The strongest moment of writing is when Cervus recounts an interaction with a driver which makes him confront his own identity head-on, neatly engaging with each of the production’s key themes, and adding a depth of emotion that makes your stomach drop. There are also real moments of humour, which endear the characters and invigorate the production.

Unfortunately, the script as a whole has noticeable peaks and troughs, alternating between rich and potent imagery and character development, and repetition of an idea past the point of addition. Some metaphors got muddled, and there were a couple of points of over-explanation which served to undermine the stronger moments of writing, diluting their message. 

Jaw-droppingly inventive, rich in emotion, and well deserving of further development, A Xerox of a Deer is a thought-provoking and worthy addition to the Fringe schedule of all those who enjoy absurdist theatre.

Drinks recommendation: A cold pint of Guinness.

You can catch A Xerox of a Deer at Studio at theSpace Triplex from 11th to 16th August at 19:10 (45 mins). Tickets are available through the EdFringe Online Box Office.