Having heard lots of hype surrounding Fat Pooch’s first Play Bloody Mary’s I was incredibly excited to finally see the finished product. The excitement was justified and then some.
Set in 1823, an Edinburgh riddled with greed and decay, Mary McKinnon is the queen of the night. Her brothel, Bloody Mary’s, is successful, her reputation untouched… Until one night of violence changes it all. When gentlemen turn ungentlemanly and demand more than Mary is willing to give, tragedy creeps under the red curtain and blood becomes the new currency.
Erin Clarke shines as Mary McKinnon. She brings a gentle motherly side to Mary, making it clear she adores the women in her service and sees them as more than employees, but family. Clarke has a large amount to sink her teeth into here. Holding her own in shouting matches with the despicable William, shouldering a large amount of the emotional heft in the third act and singing to top it all off, Clarke delivers a stellar titular performance for the delighted audience.
Sophie Nell Williams portrays the audience favourite The Gossip. Williams commands every inch of stage they’re given. Portraying gleeful delight or utter despairing heartbreak, Williams tackles it all effortlessly while being a delightful host to the audience, keeping them laughing and guessing the entire runtime.
Eleanor McMahon puts on a tour de force in this production; not only playing the innocent, gentle and love-stricken Heather to great effect, but also composing the beautiful music for the piece as well. Playing acoustic guitar on stage, singing, adding harmonies and perfectly underscoring almost the entire thing with pitch-perfect dynamics, this is an incredible first outing as Musical Director. Truly an exciting prospect and one that audiences should keep a sharp eye on for whatever she decides to do next.
Jordan Monks plays the easily detestable William Howat. Monks throws himself into every horrid line and gross look, immediately inviting the audience to hate his character. He brings a fantastic and harsh contrast in tone to the rest of the scenes set amongst the loving women, making his presence feel perfectly wrong.
Aimee Campbell is Betsy. Campbell indulges in Betsy’s confidence, sings with an effortlessness and brings laughs in a performance as strong as any on stage. Samuela Noumtchuet plays the delightful Meg, a friendly and kind woman who just wants what’s best for her family. Noumtchuet balances all aspects of Meg perfectly and melds into the scenes with her fellow girls excellently. Jorgie Buchan plays Jane, the newest girl to Bloody Mary’s. Her naivety is a nice difference and helps Jane stand out from the crowd.
The band and backing characters are brought to life brilliantly by Domi Czerniga on Violin and playing Florence, Connie Bailie on Guitar/Cajon and playing Edith and David Virgo on Bass and portraying Arthur. Each member plays their instruments flawlessly utilising dynamics that somehow never overpower the emotional moments, only adding to them.
The Writing and Direction from both Julia Gonzalez Franco and Jade L. Hutchison is mind blowing for their first play as Fat Pooch. The quality of the writing, deepness of the understanding of each character and the ability to utilise each performer in the way they do is quite simply dumbfounding. How assured the style and direction is and how much of a perfect feeling they can create from so little is enough to take your hat off to them.
The poster and sticker design from Megan Jarvie is worth a shoutout, adding to the already perfectly crafted vibe of the piece. Costume Designer Lilly Victoria Page does excellently with every piece on display. The costumes add realness and elegance to the play that immerses audiences even further. The intimacy coordination from Sophie McCarthy is also fantastic. It feels like the characters adore (or hate) each other and never feels performative in the slightest.
Overall, this is simply put as one of the best pieces of theatre I’ve had the pleasure of seeing at the Fringe and maybe the best debut play from a theatre company I can think of. Every aspect of this production is incredibly strong and I urge theatre goers this Fringe to get along and see this incredible bit of creative and historical art before it ends up where it truly belongs; a much bigger theatre with audiences from all across the country.
Theatre Scotland 
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