Roe McDonnell
Adrenalised and alone with an unconscious cellmate in a police holding cell after throwing a brick during a queer rights protest, James unpacks the experiences that brought him here: a lifelong battle with identity, over-achievement masking loneliness, a family tragedy that left deep fractures. Pulled into protest culture through a crush on an artist/activist, personal grief and political fury collide.
One of the most powerful pieces of this fringe, Brick is a stream of consciousness to an unconscious body about the system, the world and the many, many ways that it needs to change.
Noah Xavier is one of the most incredible performers I’ve seen at the Fringe this year. Being the writer of the show they know this text better than anyone else. The passion they have for the subject and the experience that they carry as a young person in this day and age, fighting for the rights of everything wrong with the world, makes this an incredible performance that everyone should be seeing if they want a better understanding of the world around them or what they could do to fight themselves.
That isn’t a subject that is brought up in this piece and each mention is so cut throw and needed even the mix of what is going on in James’ world versus the wider world it’s a perfect balance of the two and throughout the play we learn about James’ journey himself and how he came to be the person he is and what ended up in this moment.
There is also something incredibly powerful about mono logging to an audience as an actor so early in their journey with only a few small movements of their co-actor Cai Gruffudd to work with it’s only a testament to what the play carries and Noah as a performer.
This is a show where the content warnings are incredibly important so please make sure you read before booking.
You can catch Brick at C Aurora until 30 Aug at 16:45 (60 Minutes). Tickets are available to book through the Edinburgh Fringe Box Office website.
Issy Cory
Isobel Jacob
Esme Davis
