Lamesha Ruddock
What a bold and slick show driven by Jade Franks’ sharp humour and pure grit. This is a story of a young woman from Liverpool navigating the elite world of Cambridge. Directed by Tatenda Shamiso and produced by JFR Productions, Eat the Rich (but maybe not me mates x) is one of the standout solo shows from Edinburgh Fringe 2025.
This was a brilliantly fast paced, intentional solo show from Jade Franks, really diving into the dichotomy of who she had to be to survive university. She ribs on the Cambridge Footlights, but let it be known that is where this show was born from. The performance never lets up, keeping the audience hooked on every shift of character and every perfectly timed punchline.
The way Jade chastises on class barriers is hilarious at first glance but she exposes the true markers of the ruling class. As Hermes, her posho gay bestie, generously guides her through the unspoken codes: say you went to the right school, afford the Varsity Trip (a tradition since 1922) and certainly do not have a job at university. It is not allowed. Franks uncovers these absurdities with bullseye wit, revealing the cost of survival in a world designed to exclude.
A young scouser working in a call centre, fed up with being underestimated, sets her sights and gets to Cambridge University. As born and bred hard working working-class girl, she gets a cleaning job birthing her double life. But there is only so long you can separate who you are from who you are becoming. Cambridge is a very small town. Jade Franks captures this tension beautifully in Eat the Rich, showing how assimilation (a constant performance) is done for protection but the weight of the burden will only grow.
A light pink desk, a pink rollie seat and a pink landline phone set the stage. The show punches open with call centre bingo, demonstrating how much Jade has been misread based on where she is from and how she speaks. The dings of the bell gamify the harmful judgements and show her coping mechanisms.
Costume is brilliantly used to transform the scenic focus and bring new characters onto stage flip flopping between her worlds. The bright yellow gloves bring us into the world of cleaning. 6 inch heels, a business casual dress and rollers mark her differences and the devastation of the realisation. A quarter zip transforms Jade from a territorially marked girlfriend into her posho boyfriend, building to a moment of drama that leaves you squirming for her.
A range in vocal dexterity and physicality brings the different personas she encounters to life. The intentional, alluring steps forward as the Northern girl representing the 93% Club show the natural tether Jade is looking for but denies in order to survive. The repetitive motif of feminine touches transforms Jade into Tilly, Milly and Jilly as a cultural shorthand with such clarity. Voiceover deepens the story, showing Jade’s thought spiral as she imagines a world pulled and pushed from her Liverpudlian roots as she assimilates into a world where she becomes unrecognisable.
The real is brought into the performance during the culmination as Hermes’ voice is finally heard and friends from university in the audience are loved and hugged, demonstrating the rawness of the story.
Eat the Rich (but maybe not me mates x) is a thrilling debut from Jade Franks. It is buzzy, hilarious and deeply moving, taking class and privilege head on. I am personally so proud to see how Eat the Rich launched out of the Accelerator programme and cannot wait to see more of the performance.
You can catch Eat The Rich (but maybe not me mates x) until Monday 25th at Bunker One at Pleasance Courtyard from 14:15 (60mins). Tickets are available through the EdFringe Online Box Office.
Image Credit: Holly Revell
Jake Mace
Jasmine Silk
