Perffection is a powerfully painful story about a woman (all women, actually – and some men, too) who is trying to deal with her insecurities, trying to hide her self-loathing in a relationship that cannot help her or support her.
This is more than a play about an eating disorder. It illuminates how most of us who fight our whole lives to hide the fact that we feel everyone is prettier or smarter or funnier or (fill in the blank) than we are.
Two merging stories: one of a couple trying to hide, ignore and cope with her disabling obsession and one of a woman emerging from her own cocoon, trying to rise to the surface of the world that she has let define her.
The script is stark. Choreography complements and accents these characters and problems.
This is the kind of play that Fringe Theatre is all about. This play has a lot to say to a lot of people. It is an excellent representation of the raw edginess that cannot find an audience in mainstream theatre.
This ensemble piece with Leanne Govier and Christopher Bird fit beautifully together and Charlotte Josephine (also author) adds breadth and depth to the idea. Music and sound are seamlessly provided by Nasi Voustas. The direction by Bryony Shanahan is knowingly and frantically executed with a light touch.