Lippy

The beginning and end of a show are the bits you remember, the bits that leave you feeling great or feeling thoroughly disappointed. Lippy is an interesting and stylistically impressive show. Unfortunately for Edinburgh University’s Theatre Paradok, the show is undermined by severely weak points at either end of the performance. Although the poor quality of the beginning and the end are a stark contrast to the meat of the production, they affect the whole performance.

The tension created was palpable, the concept, fascinating.

The play tells the story of four women who enter into a suicide pact; they agree to starve themselves to death. As the characters soon discover, hunger isn’t the most effective suicide method, as someone has to die first and, more importantly, someone has to die last.

The play opens with a bid to convince the audience they’ve walked into the wrong room, with a post-show discussion. However it’s difficult to fall for this act when the acting of the interviewer is wholly unbelievable. The function of this introduction seems to be nothing more than to patronise. They explain the topics and themes of the show and why particular elements are included, just in case anyone can’t quite understand their art. The ending is less disastrous, just underwhelming. It comes in the form of a monologue which drags tremendously as the young actor unconvincingly states each of her lines at a glacial pace.

The design of this production is simple yet poignant, the acting is generally stunning and the absurdist elements intriguing. The tension created was palpable, the concept, fascinating. So much good could be said about Lippy, but sadly, all these positives become irrelevant when the production starts and ends in disappointment.