Review: EDINBURGH 2024 WEATHER GIRL, Summerhall

Brian Watkins, the creator of hit Amazon TV series Outer Range brings the World Premiere of his play Weather Girl to the Edinburgh Fringe in a collaboration with the award-winning producers of Fleabag, Baby Reindeer and Kathy and Stella Solve a Murder.

Weather Girl is a dark comedy which centres around the experiences of Stacey, a Californian weather girl, growing in exasperation, regarding valid concerns over the climate crisis which is evidently wrecking the local area. Her reporting of the weather coincides with wildfire destruction, but her network insists on keeping the channel positive, light and surface level. The juxtaposition of wealth and status quo versus her ethics, lead to a stupour of prosecco consumption and reckless potential deadly choices.

As the chaos grows, so does the confusion of reality. The environmental catastrophe weighs heavily, with a desperation to discover anything that will save the scorched earth. Julia McDermott playing Stacey is a tour-de-force with the absolute immersion of the unrelenting heavy-volume script, with impressive full commitment to the predicament and clever multi-rolling into the characters of her colleagues, dates and unhinged mother.

As we become embroiled into the action, we ponder whether the witching hour is in fact at 4:00am, whether prosecco or vodka is actually in our co-workers sustainable drinking cups and whether Stacey’s can hang on to the edge whilst crumbling. The environmental issues explore the concerns over water, and whether building communities with the intention of living in an environment of dry landscape is not just unwise, but senseless.

Stacey’s natural tendencies towards being a loner are challenged with her extrovert weather reporting and engagement with dates she loathes and leery managers. The vulnerability and lack of support in life structure secludes her, causing a descent into hysteria. Stacey feels warnings of ‘divine biblical punishment’, which manifest for her in the form of a ‘thumping pressure cooker’ of panic attacks, pulling her to the earth’s core, but also engages with a question of aqua mysticism.

A standout moment came in the form of a meltdown on live air, whilst finding courage to speak truth to power, by using the media outreach responsibly and morally, to warn the public of the all-consuming danger. 

Weather Girl is an unmissable one woman show, which highlights the Californian climate crisis, wildfire, water droughts and worry.

Weather Girl runs at Summerhall, Cairns Lecture Hall until 18, 20-26 August 2024.

Photo Credit: Michael Wharley

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