Written by Sophie Fisher
Review by Aislinn McSharry
A one-woman play detailing the trials and tribulations of casting calls, acting aspirations, and general social survival in the face of all this, Sophie Fisher’s An Ode to the Casting Director is hilarious, heartfelt, and completely captivating.
Dismal auditions of hoarse battle cries, to traumatising toe-sucking improvisation classes, Fisher, utterly watchable in her one-woman play, recounts these experiences, all whilst making the audience howl with laughter; With Fisher’s palpable charisma at the helm, we are engaged and enticed every step of the way.
The subtle and slick use of multimedia emphasises key thematic elements: A yellow-tinged light bulb is ever-present on stage, and a stage-left screen magnifies Fisher during auditions. In an ingenious metatheatrical lens, we are simultaneously audience and casting director, observing Fisher both in person and as a face on a screen. Not only do we see her every expression exacerbated as she plays each part, but we also see her frustrations, her fears, and her levels of discomfort in different audition rooms.
Fisher perfectly executes every possible extremity of emotion throughout the play, but specialises in a sort of humorously held-back rage: an underlying fury when her boyfriend’s drunk friends are sick in her car in the early hours of the morning, a silent disbelief merged with anger at her boyfriend’s cruel break-up, and – perfectly relatable for anyone who’s ever worked in hospitality – a base-layer of stinted annoyance when customers rudely request coffees served at precise ten minute intervals. All this exists additionally to the abundance of frustration in the face of these casting directors – although this emotion is even more carefully concealed. Nonetheless, Fisher is perky, playful, and charismatic, encapsulating all this rage in is a ridiculously likeable persona.
Despite the strong comedic elements, Fisher’s show is also a personal, vulnerable exploration that doesn’t shy away from the darker shades of life: She elucidates the austere relationship with her parents, their brutal lack of support (her mother having never attended any of her shows), and how her youthful adoration of her father morphed to disillusionment with an adult lens.
Whilst expressing a conglomeration of odd experiences and anecdotes, a strong narrative arc remains entirely intact, and the play’s denouement amounts to significant changes in Sophie’s life: her relationship ends, she gets a new, far more supportive agent, and, most importantly, she gets her first TV role. The play comes to a close at the point of this revelation, and the audience feels a successful sense of jubilation: after enduring a series of seemingly unfair setbacks, Fisher has finally got what she deserves.
Instilling this final sense of hope and achievement, Fisher’s An Ode to The Casting Director leaves audiences elated, equally thrilled by the past hour of theatre they have experienced, and excited for Fisher’s future. A timely affirmation of the creative arts, and the pursuit of them, amidst this year’s Fringe Festival, Fisher’s show is not to be missed!
Not To Be Missed
An Ode To The Casting Director runs at The Gilded Balloon Patter Hoose – The Penny
Running time: Sixty minutes without interval
Photo credit: Andrew Morris
Review by Aislinn McSharry (contact@corrblimey.uk)
Aislinn McSharry has just completed her second year studying German and English Literature at The University of Edinburgh. Whilst she has loved participating in Theatre at the University, her most recent role has been as Theatre Editor for The Student Newspaper. Her theatrical taste spans from old-school gritty musicals (Cabaret, Fiddler on the Roof) to exciting dramas (anything Oscar Wilde, but specifically Lady Windermere’s Fan), and she can’t wait to see what this year’s Fringe has in store!
