Review: EMBER, Mad Hatter Films - Edinburgh Fringe (Online)

Waking up one day, Fleur realises she doesn’t know who she is.  She is living the dream of any millennial, but is left with inescapable anxiety about the future instead of happiness and satisfaction.  Ember is a window into her mind; a dark comedy pierced with fear, shame and loss.

Isabella Perversi plays the title role. She’s a good story teller and we feel able to relate to her, travelling along with her within the story.

It’s Fleur’s 27th birthday, the highlight of which is a trip to her gynecologist.  It wasn’t supposed to be like this.  She has everything she dreamed of when she was ‘young’; the perfect house, the dream husband (ok, it’s not quite the Leo DiCaprio she had in mind, but still) and now she’s ‘old’, she’s not sure she wants it.  Is this a mid-life crisis?  She tells us that “I just thought I would feel different!”

Leaving her with questions about her Father’s death, how to reinvent herself after a break up and where does she go from here?

Fleur represents all of us at some point in our lives and we want her to figure it out.  It diverts us from our own issues, whilst also helping us to think them through.

Ember is an interesting piece; it probably has more questions than answers but that’s life, right?

**** Four Stars

Reviewed by: Rachel Louise Martin

Ember is available on Fringe Online.