EDINBURGH 2023: Review: CHILD OF SUNDAY, Laughing Horse @ The Counting House

Hailing from Australia, Elisa Riddington brings her solo show, Child of Sunday, to the Edinburgh Fringe as part of the Free Fringe programme. The backdrop of the show on entry is a cross-shaped stained glass window with light pouring through. 

Opening with a rendition of “Gotta serve somebody” Riddington takes us back to her childhood of being brought up in a series of “pop-up” charismatic churches in small towns along the East coast of Australia, headed up by her father.

Her stories are interwoven with thoughtful song choices, from Roland Orzabal’s “Mad World” to a narrative-driven rendition of 4 Non Blondes’ “What’s Up?” as she tells of the fate that fell upon her family when they joined a wider network of churches, with Riddington’s wistful vocals adding a new layer of vulnerability to the lyrics.

Dressed in a white gown reminiscent of choir robes (or perhaps those of an angel) and equipped with a tambourine, she asks what it means to be a Christian today. While speaking in very general terms towards the end of the show, it would have been good to hear more about where Riddington and her family are now in terms of their respective journeys of faith – are her parents still churchgoers? Is her sister still the “better Christian”? What of herself? Is this show her attempt to bring the audience closer to Christ, or a way of saying farewell to a former life? 

There are some genuinely heartfelt and even educational moments within the show: as someone also brought up in the church, it was nice to hear more about the slightly mysterious art form of flag-waving worship – with the key flag colours and manoeuvres outlined to those in attendance, along with Riddington’s humorous alternative names for this cloth-based choreography.

This isn’t the church-bashing solo show you might think it is, Riddington seems to still admire a lot of attributes of Christ and his church – drawing parallels between the shared experience of a worship service and a theatre performance – and is a pleasant and reflective hour for people of faith and none.

Child of Sunday is at Laughing Horse @ The Counting House until 27 August

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