REVIEW: Bite, Anovian Productions, EdFringe 2026 ★★★★★

A bold and vulnerable verbatim play, Bite raises awareness of atypical anorexia, an eating disorder where people have symptoms of anorexia, but are not underweight. Using a combination of real diary entries, physical theatre and confrontational scenes, the play follows Riley (Sadie Cara), as her eating disorder Anna (Harriet Elizabeth) slowly begins to control her, isolating her from her friends and family and distorting her sense of self.

Bite evokes so many emotions, from anger and disbelief at how the doctors treat Riley, to absolute heartbreak at her mother’s devastation. Even the light-hearted scenes that poke fun at misguided attitudes about eating disorders are tinged with sadness as we realise the devastating consequences these comments can have for someone who is struggling.

Turning anorexia into a character is incredibly effective, giving a visual representation of what is happening inside Riley’s head. Anna is manipulative, telling Riley that her family are toxic, and she’s the only one who cares. She hurls vile insults and abuse at her, highlighting how low Riley’s body image and self esteem are.

At multiple points she attacks Riley, holding her down while she writhes in pain. It is a bold metaphor that conveys the aggressive nature of eating disorders. Elizabeth fully commits to the role, and her performance is nothing short of amazing.

Cara’s performance of Riley captures the little nuances needed to play the role convincingly. Her struggle between knowing what she is doing isn’t right, but not being able to stop it is eloquently explained through diary entries. Her sense of what the ‘right’ amount of food to eat becomes extremely warped, and her food diary turns into another way for her to fuel the illness. From the start of the play she seems tired and anxious, and this only increases, until she only has the tiniest glimmer of hope left.

The physical theatre segments are clean and well-rehearsed, and compliment the story well. Riley wants comfort from her mum, but Anna and the other ensemble members (Ellie Anna Weir, Daisy Hemming, Eden Louise) physically drag her away, demonstrating how her illness controls her. Various stunts are performed smoothly, and the actresses exhibit amazing strength and control. While they are all extremely talented, Louise’s dancing particularly stands out: she has great stage presence and makes the moves seem natural.

Bite shows how much diet culture and weight loss have been normalised in society. As Riley scrolls through her phone, the other actresses act out parodies of TikTok videos. What starts as innocently mindless videos quickly goes downhill, until her feed is filled with endless ‘What I Eat In A Days’ and adverts for Ozempic.

While some of these are clearly ridiculous – a video from a five-stone mum trying to lose four stone springs to mind – it makes a strong statement about how easy it is to find this harmful content, which is particularly relevant at a time where many people in the public eye are using weight loss drugs.

Authentic, vulnerable and incredibly moving, Bite is a stellar show that absolutely deserves every second of its standing ovation. The cast are incredibly talented, and do a superb job of bringing this important story to life.

Performances of Bite have concluded at EdFringe 2026.