EDINBURGH 2018: Review: DANGEROUS GIANT ANIMALS, Underbelly

Dangerous Giant Animals is a play about Claire and her experiences of having a disabled sister. Five years younger than her, Kayla was diagnosed with multiple conditions when she was two years old. Kayla has atypical Rett syndrome, Cerebral Palsy and severe epilepsy which results in her brain resetting itself ten times an hour.

This play looks at how the family are affected by Kayla's condition. Although it can be frustrating when she has tantrums, the methods adopted by her family to calm her down are very touching.

Dangerous Giant Animals looks at the violent side of caring. It examines the strain that the rest of Kayla's family has on them to take care of her. The lighting changes during Kayla's tantrums and shadows represent these giant animals that she is so obsessed with.

What I particularly liked about Dangerous Giant Animals is that there is no big Hollywood ending. It is a play that reflects the experience of living with a disabled sibling and it isn't sensationalised for the sake of theatre.

Although some of the repetition in the script started to grate, Christina Murdock gives a confident performance and manages to carry the one-woman show and make this a compelling play.

https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/dangerous-giant-animals

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