Fringe Review: BUNNY!, Anatomy Lecture Theatre at Summerhall
Photo credit: Steven M
There are many ways to get ahead in the theatre industry. Training, networking, knowing the right people… or, apparently, eliminating anyone who gets between you and stardom.
Meet Bunny.
Craig Manson’s gloriously deranged one-woman show follows an aspiring actress who is willing to do absolutely anything for her big break, including systematically removing the competition. What begins as a wonderfully silly serial-killer comedy soon spirals into a much bigger, brilliantly bonkers attack on celebrity culture, billionaires, the arts industry and the frankly absurd lengths performers are expected to go to just to get noticed.
It’s Manson, a chair, a microphone and a sequin dress and stockings that are more weathered than a student’s trainers after flyering on the Mile for a month, all in what feels like a courtroom setting, the perfect playground for this blood-caked comedy.
Bunny is chaotic and completely committed to the bit, with Manson throwing themselves into a character who is somehow simultaneously terrifying and desperately likeable at the same time. The theatricality of it all is what makes it work, with the performance constantly blurring the line between cabaret, comedy and full-blown character piece. Manson clearly understands how to make a Fringe show work, spending the whole performance connecting with the audience and bringing them along for the journey, which is ultimately what makes the show as engaging as it is.
There’s also a deliciously dark satire underneath all the sequins and murder. Bunny’s obsession with becoming a star feels ridiculous, until you realise just how recognisable some of her frustrations are. Rejection, funding, artistic gatekeeping and the desperation to be seen are all given the Bunny treatment. She just wants to be able to perform…. to do her shows and be able to afford to live at the same time, is that too much to ask? Performers are forced to find exposure, but we all know…exposure can be dangerous.
As a musical theatre fan, it was also a delight to see reworked versions of songs from the likes of Hairspray and Gypsy add to the stagey-ness of the production, and Manson has a gorgeous voice!
The show is silly and sharp, and it gets increasingly more absurd as it goes. Shout out to Marina Abramović.
Bunny! is the most unhinged and fabulously fatal audition you’ll ever watch.
**** Four stars
Reviewed by: James Edge
Bunny! plays at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe until 31 Aug, with further info here.
