The talk of this year’s Fringe – Hame. Teeth. Club. follows Morgan Shields, who is thrilled to be at a loss for direction and lacking in motivation. Morgan finds herself every weekend at Dalkeith Miners Club without fail. It’s the place to be. Every Saturday night. This visceral, poignant and comedic play runs at Underbelly Cowgate’s Iron Belly until 30th August.
Rhiannon Lucy Bird gives a masterclass in storytelling as Morgan Shields. Rhiannon delivers side-splitting comedy, effective physical theatre, and profoundly heartbreaking emotion through her 60 minutes on stage. Rhiannon allows the Scottishness and working class roots of this play to shine through in her portrayal of Morgan, not compromising the dialect for international audiences and instead giving true representation. One which it is clear Scottish audiences are deeply appreciating. A notable mention has to go to Rhiannon’s ability to portray multiple characters and bring such great differentiation throughout. The farcical attention to detail really brings the characters to life, appreciated by all the audience.
The hard-hitting and important themes and issues surrounding sexual assault featured in this production are portrayed with such realism and honesty from Rhiannon. As the audience witnesses Morgan’s tumultuous and raw journey, we see it from a perspective that is all too common within today’s society but rarely portrayed so profoundly. Rhiannon’s portrayal sheds a light on the women that Morgan represents, and truly presents the audience with a horrifying insight into SA. Yet the comedic nuance and dynamic portrayal really grips and entertains the audience, allowing them to truly resonate with the character and bring light and shade into this thought-provoking play.
Playwright Kari Hall has captured the working-class spirit, Scottish identity, and the serious issues featured within this play with such creative intuition. Whilst the powerful context of this play punches hard, it is done so through an engaging and brilliantly colourful narrative. Kari’s voice is one which I hope is brought to the forefront of the Scottish theatre industry in future years.
Jessie-Wren Jacobs does an excellent job directing this production. Jessie-Wren embraces Kari Hall’s Scottish voice, shining a spotlight on the unique perspective and ensuring that it is authentic to its intended audiences. With this, Jessie-Wren allows Rhiannon’s performance to do the heavy lifting of the storytelling, like any good fringe production, whilst still adding effective mise-en-scène to utilise the full potential of the performance space and shift the audience’s focus.
Hame. Teeth. Club. is the epitome of what the Edinburgh Fringe was created for, bringing working-class voices and perspectives to the forefront in a wonderfully creative manner. This is a striking, creative and thoroughly thought-provoking piece that is equally entertaining in its lighthearted and colourful approach to broaching such an imposing subject.
Get tickets for Hame. Teeth. Club. here – https://underbellyedinburgh.co.uk/events/event/hame-teeth-club
Theatre Scotland 
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