Review: EDINBURGH 2024: CAITLIN COOK: THE WRITING ON THE STALL, Pleasance Dome

“I love how confessional bathrooms can be”

Caitlin Cook: The Writing on the Stall places the audience in a club bathroom, where we meet Cook, who, after pulling off her underwear and taking a seat on the toilet at the centre of the stage, asks audience members if they have toilet paper, grateful when someone pulls out a receipt for her to use.

We then start gossiping about a girl named “Betty,” who has ticked Cook off while playing a game of “Never Have I Ever,” and audience members are invited to trash talk her along with Cook. But, Cook’s attention quickly turns to the walls of the bathroom, with her claiming, “This bathroom has the best bathroom graffiti in the city,” leading into the main theme of the show - bathroom stall graffiti.

Cook is passionate about bathroom graffiti, and she’s not afraid to tell the world about it. Her thesis for her Master’s degree at Oxford was over 300 pages on bathroom stall graffiti, defining it as the oldest form of art and proving it through cave paintings and other examples. In keeping with her love for art that might not necessarily be seen as “proper” by critics, Cook also wrote a 63-page paper on penises on classical sculptures, like Michelangelo’s “David,” were so small.

As Cook speaks, we are shown photos of different bathroom graffiti on a screen behind her, giving the show a strong visual impact. Cook asks a few philosophical questions based on what she considers to be the least-acknowledged art, including “Why is one work of art better than another?” And, as one might expect, one of the greatest questions of all, “What is art?”

The highlight of the show is its songs, a combination of original lyrics by Cook and photos of bathroom graffiti that both she and others have taken over the years. One of my favourite songs in the show is one that compares the graffiti found in women’s bathrooms versus men’s bathrooms, which boils down to inspirational quotes versus drawings of dicks (though, I must admit, some of them are quite creative - I particularly loved “The Birth of Penis”)!. There is even a song in which Cook plays on both the kazoo and guitar at the same time, making for a fun bit!

As bathrooms are known as a place of confessions, Cook finally has something to confess, a secret that has been alluded to during our time with her. This leads into an incredibly dark segment of the show in which Cook discusses her declining mental health and how, at her lowest, she found that bathroom graffiti was there for her, illustrating not only the worst but also the best of humanity. This confession does lead to the show going a bit all over the place after originally being solely focused on bathroom graffiti, but it all comes together in the end for a hopeful message about the future. 

Caitlin Cook: The Writing on the Stall is an interesting musical comedy with a fascinating take on the importance of bathroom graffiti and some moments of personal loss and growth. While the show does not have the strongest storyline, the points made are strong and the songs are incredibly catchy!

Caitlin Cook: The Writing on the Stall ran until 25 August at Pleasance Dome - 10 Dome.

To post a comment, you must register and login.