This is part of a series of shorter reviews from Edinburgh Fringe, August 2024.
The final show that we saw at Edinburgh Fringe was “You Deserve It”, a new play by Jess Ferrier and performed by Out Of Order Productions, which saw six friends having a get together in an Airbnb. The play gets off to a suitably sinister start, as the friends arrive at their lodgings to find it decked out for a retirement party, and yet all the retirement cards on the shelves are blank… except for one, which contains the message “I know what you did”.
What follows is an intense hour that is full of revelations of the six aspiring actors, each of the characters themselves offspring of various celebrities and famous directors. The main protagonist, Skye (Yasmin Taylor) is the quieter and more reserved of the bunch, and yet still has an air of entitlement to her that is shared with the others. Lennox (Archie Beattie) is particularly unlikeable – which is the intention of the play and credit to the actor. Lennox’s girlfriend Aurora (Jenny MacDougall) is just as bad – though not as childish or intimidating as Lennox, she sees herself as untouchable thanks to her rich mother.
One may be forgiven for thinking that watching a group of unlikeable characters would not make for an enjoyable hour, but seeing them slowly turn on each other as they begin to throw blame for the mysterious goings on is fascinating, and the chemistry between the actors is compelling to watch. Lilith (Leah Neill) has a particularly dark secret that is revealed towards the end of the play, and it is a shame that we don’t see more repercussions of this horrifying backstory.
Skye and cousin Harris (Sean Tennant) share some particularly nice scenes together as they discuss their family and their upbringing, although it is Robbie Small as Blair who steals the show in the end, as the audience are torn over whether to root for him or root for his comeuppance.
This play made a nice change of pace from the bizarre and outlandish comedies that we had seen throughout the rest of the Fringe, and was a nice note to end our trip on. The cleverly constructed characters and intricate plot made for dramatic viewing, and one that held our attention to the very end.
Tom Morley, August 2024
“You Deserve It” plays at theSpace on the Mile at 4:35pm until August 23rd.
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