Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2018: Seen and Heard

If you want a show that has absolutely everything, and I mean everything, then look no further than SEEN AND HEARD.

The show commences with a young, fragile looking girl called Becky Lou on the stage.  The music starts, and she is acting out some famous lines from movies and you can see her confidence grow until the most unexpected event occurs…And I don’t want to comment too much here because I don’t want to spoil the surprise and any written word probably makes it sound grubby when it actually isn’t but lets just say Jim Henson never operated a puppet from this particular part of the body and Becky Lou demonstrated dexterous puppeteering skills.  Let’s leave it at that!

Becky Lou proceeds to tell the story of the people she has met via her journey through life.  Cabaret artistes, burlesque stars and ladies who have worked in some of the grittiest and oldest professions with some tales to tell.  Four such ladies are invited to visit the stage, one at a time to tell their story and demonstrate their art.

First up is a lady who physically and metaphorically bears all to us.  She’s a stripper, and she takes us through her routine with a dazzlingly sexy routine before wrapping herself in a luxurious mink fur to protect her modesty as she proudly tells us why her successful career was influenced by her mother and why she is proud of who she is and what she does.

Next up is waif like female who tells her current story, attempting to be a mother and a circus entertainer.  Dressed in unflattering grey hoody she looks nothing special. Until she strips down to her circus-wear and produces the most dramatic of hoop displays.

We have a lapdancer, and a befuddled member of the audience is on stage receiving the greatest personal Fringe show he’ll ever receive before the lady in question tells us a sad tale resulting as a victim of domestic abuse.

Finally, we have the burlesque dancer whose path to her chosen career commenced through stripping and then as an escort, sucked in to alleviate debt problems.  We were then dazzled by her sensual dance routine.

Sad and honest, sexy and funny.  All gamut of emotions inside an hour.  Very highly recommended.

STEVE HEALD – Writing is my passion, contact me at steve_j_heald@hotmail.com if you would like me to review your event.

Disclosure: The Plus Ones were invited guests of Crowded
Photo credits: Becky Lou