On The Edge follows four characters dealing with trauma, each played by Jesse Dupre. Australian Bonnie is an influencer wannabe, Cheryl is an aggressive parkour expert, Janet is a complaining widow, and Linda is their put-upon group leader. Jesse excels at making each character distinct with a variety of accents and props. However, one problem with one woman playing many parts is that to make each character feel distinct, stereotypes can occasionally be portrayed (the influencer wannabe is everything you would imagine her to be).
it’s certainly an interesting concept with a talented artist at the heart of it
Trauma therapy is at the very heart of On The Edge, and the show opens with a trauma therapy session hosted by Linda before Jesse introduces all the separate characters into the narrative. The true-to-life representation of the therapy process is a key ingredient, and there’s been careful and composed research by creators Jesse Dupre and Ally Cologna to both portray and explore this sensitive subject.
There’s also a confusing aspect to the plot. At times, I wasn’t entirely sure whether there were four characters or whether this was all Linda’s imagination. As the show begins to break the fourth wall, this left me even more perplexed, and if the final ten minutes had resulted in the revelation that the creation of characters was indeed part of the psychological nature of trauma, I doubt the audience would have been surprised.
The show mixes media into its equation with video sequences played against live acting. These sequences work well, and Jesse is able to carefully navigate the conversations she’s having with her video selves. On The Edge ends with recorded voice tracks featuring people affected by trauma, sharing their real-life experiences. Whilst the use of media was an enjoyable aside, the video sequences didn't add much to the plot and the emotional real-life experiences felt somewhat tacked onto the end rather than integrated into the piece.
This is Jesse’s first solo work, although theatre-goers might recognise the name from Haste Theatre, which she formed several years ago with four other female artists. The company has had several hits across a variety of theatre festivals throughout the world, including Oyster Boy and The Hideout. Branching out into solo theatre with a character-based show playing four separate characters left me feeling that the show might well have been devised as a Haste Theatre four-hander.
While it’s certainly an interesting concept with a talented artist at the heart of it, it never quite manages to pull all the pieces together into a central narrative or a conclusion that ties all the threads together. The flyer said, “Come expecting laughter and tragedy, leave with a sense of hope and affinity,” and whilst there's many positives to take away from this piece, unfortunately, it never quite managed to fulfill the flyer's promise.
