The Sisters Fig
★★★★☆ Ludicrous
Assembly Roxy (Venue 139): Thurs 1 – Sun 25 Aug 2024
Review by Hugh Simpson
Porridge After Meat’s The Sisters Fig at the Assembly Roxy Snug Bar is almost impossible to describe and all the better for it.
Writer-performers Blaise Wopperer and (Edinburgh-based) Lara Ciulli play foul-mouthed sisters Blair and Mary Fig, stranded with an abusive father on a remote farm, apparently in Australia.
The Sisters Fig: Lara Ciulli and Blaise Wopperer. Pic: Lara Ciulli.
The setting is possibly a nod to the comedy of Chris Lilley, whose work may be the most recognisable antecedent to this. However, the absurd physical comedy of The Sisters Fig, both wilfully stupid and surprisingly touching, is very much its own thing.
The tight confines of the acting space mean this is very much the best place to experience such dextrous clowning, which is what might be expected from graduates of the Ecole Philippe Gaulier. The fighting, dancing and general falling over are at ridiculously close quarters (and occasionally even closer than some might like).
This could be described as ‘character comedy’, but there is definitely an arc through the entire piece; the various segments are clearly scenes rather than sketches, punctuated by home-movie-style filmed inserts.
utterly recognisable
What makes this successful is the way that, despite its seemingly ludicrous nature, it presents a portrait of sibling relationships that is utterly recognisable – rivalry, co-dependence, friction approaching hatred, and underlying loyalty. The emotional nature of it can be seen by the way that one of the filmed pieces is accompanied by an example of Molly Drake’s melancholy home recordings, which doesn’t seem remotely out of place.
There are other musical interludes too, but these are more resolutely comic. Like the slapstick and occasional improvisation (to say nothing of the cow costume), they give it the air of a – definitely adult – pantomime, and it is certainly consistently funny.
It is just as impressive when it is wilfully strange, however, or when very little happens. Or, of course, when Tom Greaves leaves his tech desk to berate an unsuspecting audience member.
Greaves plays the sisters’ father, who is shown in one of the films to have an unnaturally close relationship with a cheese grater. It’s that sort of show. But it’s also a highly accomplished one, both thoughtful and stupid in all the best ways.
Running time: One hour and 5 minutes (no interval)
Assembly Roxy (Snug Bar), 2 Roxburgh Place, EH8 9SU (Venue 139)
Thursday 1 – Sunday 25 August 2024
Daily (not 14, 19) at 7.45 pm
Details and tickets at: Book here
Website: www.thesistersfig.com
Instagram: @thesistersfig
ENDS
