Review: EDINBURGH 2024: CHARACTER FLAW, Underbelly, Bristo Square

“Has anyone here ever lost their phone?”

Character Flaw, written and performed by Philippa Dawson, takes audience members into the mind of Dawson, particularly looking at her experiences with ADHD and queer identity. We begin with Dawson telling us about some of her experiences with embarrassing moments, which then leads into one of the main themes of ADHD, in which we are introduced to the concept of a train network inside Dawson’s mind, a complex one running multiple trains of thought at once.

We are introduced to Jean, a character in Dawson’s mind who is responsible for filing all of the information in her brain, bringing up memories as needed for conversation. Unfortunately for Dawson, while Jean does her job filing, she also has a tendency to overwhelm Dawson, bringing up thoughts and memories while she is trying to focus on something else.

It’s a complicated relationship between the two of them, but one that Dawson is unsure she would want to live without. ADHD has led to several issues in Dawson’s life including a difficulty in learning, hyper-focusing and being unable to find her place in the world. She also brings up her struggles with her sexuality, visually depicted by her shoving a pride flag into her rucksack. 

Dawson is curious about the way her mind works and wants to understand why the way she is, so she uses an “ADHD guidebook” to understand her own extreme reactions (which she determines are due to her “emotional dysregulation”) and to try to change her life for the better. It is something that many neurodiverse people will relate to and Dawson does a good job of showing this to audiences whether they are neurodiverse or not.

The main metaphor of the show, of trains inside of Dawson’s mind, comes from some of her experiences with the form of transportation, some of which are shown to the audience either through storytelling or through mini-scenes, including one where she is listening to Mozart and is so engrossed in the music that she misses the platform change for her train. 

Once Dawson goes on medication as a way of handling her ADHD, she begins to lose a part of herself, which she illustrates through Jean disappearing from her mind and the complex train network being decreased, forcing her to “Travel in silence with one route, one track, one train.” While she is now able to function, she is a shell of her former self and realises that things need to change. Dawson does, thankfully, emphasise that this was all only her personal experience and encourages others not to be discouraged by what happened to her when it comes to medicating. 

Character Flaw is a fun and fascinating look into the mind of Dawson, who shows a strong amount of vulnerability in telling her story on stage to a room of strangers. The show is raw and reflective while still remaining comedic, remaining true to its genre and making interesting points on ADHD and queer identity. 

Character Flaw ran until 26 August at Underbelly, Bristo Square - Clover.

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