★★★★★
Sophie paints the perfect picture of her family life, her dads an ‘art dealer’, her brother is going into the business, and all she wants for her birthday is Polly Pocket shoes from Clarks. This is told from the viewpoint of the adult Sophie, electronically tagged and waiting for a flight out of Spain.
Azaelia’s writing and performance is peerless. She engages the audience and involves us fully in the narrative, but not in some cringey stand-up way, this is controlled theatre. We are invited to play her family and friends, holding brilliant illustrations by Cara Smith. This home-made quality is inspired, and Jess Gough’s direction leans into this, making a virtue of creating worlds with few resources. The invitation to play, disarms the audience completely, and as we go into the second act, we are hit with darker and more troubling revelations.
Eve Phillip’s movement direction shows the attention to detail that has gone into this work. Slade’s development of the play over years has resulted in each moment earning its place.
At the outset Azaelia Slade’s theatre piece may seem fluffy and silly, carried along by her charismatic performance. But this is intentional, Slade has subverted audiences’ expectations of working-class stories, and how they are meant to be; full of easy self-deprecating laughs and limiting stereotypes. At the shows climax, she rejects this narrative and delivers a necessary provocation. Azaelia Slade is perhaps one of the most important new voices at the Fringe this year.
This Is How I Got Arrested is on at Zoo Playground till August 30th
