Fringe review: HELP YOURSELF, Emma Ruse Productions - Edinburgh Festival Fringe

Help Yourself, presented by Emma Ruse Productions, is a play that satirises the self-care and self-help movement, and pokes fun at trite slogans such as ‘it happened for a reason’ or ‘chin up’, revealing the damaging effects of such sayings that don’t really allow for authentic emotional engagement. 

Performed with energy by Jess Brodie and Victoria Bianchi, in bright green and pink power suits, the play is firmly placed visually and stylistically in 2023 for its 21st century millennial and Gen Z audience who understand the references.

The performers have good chemistry and give it their all, as a high energy demanding show. There are also poignant scenes shared between them which provide relief from the eccentric and fast paced scenes which dominate the piece and, at times, are quite repetitive. 

Whilst exploring interesting subject matter such as mental health and how society is encouraged to engage with it in quite toxic ways, often through superficial social media accounts and hashtags, as well as capitalist distractions such as face masks and candles, the show doesn’t offer much original commentary beyond this. It is well constructed and achieves what it sets out to do in satirising this theme but as a play , it is quite one sided and stilted by a lack of new thought on the topic.

*** Three stars

Reviewed by: Viv Williams

Help Yourself plays in the Demonstration Room at Summerhall at 4pm until 27 August.