EDINBURGH 2015 - BWW Reviews: WENDY HOOSE, Assembly Rooms, August 19 2015

Wendy Hoose opens with a couple meeting on a Tinder-style dating app. Laura invites Jake round to her flat and he walks in to find the door open and Laura already under the covers waiting for him. However, as things progress, Jake discovers that Laura neglected to disclose something that he thinks was too big an omission on her part. Jake calls a taxi as he is no longer interested in sleeping with her - but has a 40-minute wait before one will be available.

As is typical of Birds of Paradise productions, Wendy Hoose has been made extremely accessible. With enhanced access, sign language and audio description they have ensured that this play will be enjoyed to its full potential by all. The audio description is superb and rather than just state what is happening onstage the describer offers her own commentary and sarcastic quips about the characters. The language used is fantastic and although a lot of it is Glasgow "banter" it translates easily elsewhere.

Beneath the witty and outrageous script, there is an interesting social commentary. Both parties were willing to meet up and have sex while knowing almost nothing about each other. Snap judgements were made as they found out a little more about each other and they have a very heated exchange. While Jake protests that Laura misled him she argues that she was completely straightforward and he misinterpreted her disclosure as a joke. The two performers James Young and Amy Conachan are fantastic and perfectly balance the comedy and compassionate element of this play.

I cannot stress enough how much I loved Wendy Hoose. Definitely my favourite play of this year's Fringe so far!

Ticket information for Wendy Hoose is available on the edfringe website.