Edinburgh Fringe Review: I See You Watching.

Brilliant. Brutal. Beautiful.

🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷 – 5 out of 5 glasses of fine wine! (Or what ever YOU think it should be! Stars? 5 stars then. Love them! ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️)

Blind Faith Theatre. Edinburgh Fringe. Gilded Balloon Patter House – Doonstairs. 20:30 (60 mins) 30 July – 24 August (not 11, 19) Tickets here.

Kylie Westerbeck and David Calvitto. Photo: Cameron Soeparto 

The shame and the shock of the ‘Me Too’ movement, quite rightly provoked a plethora of plays aiming to explore, explain and expose its true legacy of control. And initially, with its young attractive female on a bare stage and a suave, businesslike, besuited middle-aged man greeting us in the auditorium, I was expecting a perhaps traditional tale of male control and abuse. And I am also aware that I am a male of a certain age too.

But cleverly, this piece, devised by Melanie Stewart, who directs, John Clancy who wrote the text and Kylie Westerbeck who performs, adds much more to the whole debate of control, power and choice.

We, the audience, are part of the action. As we are greeted in the auditorium by the pleasant gentleman, it appears we are part of the team choosing… the what? The actor? It begins like a traditional actors audition, although the pleasant gentleman seems to almost know us and often refers to us in the process of his control. Are we there to help him with the process?

We soon discover a much less linear story.

It’s very clever and even occasionally becomes playful. And the two performers are masterful. David Calvitto gives us a master of ceremonies that brilliantly finds the right balance between control and trust. At the beginning, he is a monster, but Calvitto has the skill to create a monster that is not that obviously easy to hate. He’s not an EVIL monster. Just doing what he obviously thinks has to be done to this poor woman. The status quo? He treads a very delicate and nuanced line, particularly as the play develops. Which almost makes the situation worse!

And Kylie Westerbeck as the woman is nothing less than mesmerising. Her tour de force performance begins with a manic energy that perfectly physically conveys how desperately she wants to conform – and get ‘it’ right, even though the ‘it’ is constantly changing. And becomes evermore exhausting. She is so desperate and accepting of the ‘male gaze’ that it almost tips the balance of sympathy for her, which is another reason why this is such a cleverly challenging, but completely entertaining piece.

It’s technically clever too. Costume design is by Stephanie Nichols and is subtly spot-on – lavish but not distracting. There is also some very effective lighting (often difficult in a fringe show) and some snap-sharp cues.

And perhaps most cleverly of all, without too much of a spoiler, as the dynamic changes towards the end of the show, we perhaps, male and female, become aware, through the eyes and experiences of this woman, how we ALL want to be liked: we ALL want to do the right thing and make the right choices… and how we ALL… See You Watching!

A must see!