Presented by Blue Squirrel Productions and Suzanna Rosenthal Productions
Review by Dominic Corr
Parental role reversal arrives with a quiet, devastating inevitability, turning adult offspring into guardians for the very figures who once anchored their lives. In The Woman in the Mirror, veteran radio presenter Dayna Steele adapts her non-fiction memoir for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, teaming up with co-writer and director Laura Stearns for an intensely personal UK premiere. Chronicling Steele’s journey caring for her mother through Alzheimer’s disease, this two-woman play strips away any cosy theatrical sentimentality to expose the unvarnished realities of domestic caregiving. It does so in a caring, intimate, yet friendly and jovial production which does so much more than offer a
Staged amidst a scatter of cardboard packing crates, the production turns its simple domestic set into a fluid storytelling mechanism, with Steele and co-star Rebecca McWilliams retrieving props directly from the boxes to pivot through timelines without clutter. Though primarily Steele’s perspective, McWilliams delivers a magnificently nuanced performance, tracing the mother’s physical and cognitive regression with heartbreaking precision alongside a rolling walker that becomes a focal point for her volatile shifts in temperament. Playing herself alongside brief turns as diagnosing physicians, Steele brings a commanding vocal authority polished over decades in broadcasting. If her delivery occasionally tilts closer to a structured presentation than raw dramatic dialogue, her exquisite comedic timing and sharp observational wit keep the heavy subject matter engaging rather than oppressive.
The script charts the exhausting escalation of Alzheimer’s without judgement and coddling – from misplaced post-it notes and forgotten appointments to sudden outbursts and eventual full-time supervision – without losing the affection that underpins the relationship. Though listed under comedy in festival listings, theatregoers seeking light-hearted escapism will encounter an emotionally taxing chronicle of grief and fatigue instead. Yet, the production gains immense power through this refusal to offer tidy platitudes. Dark humour regularly punctures the gloom, capturing the quiet absurdities of adult caretaking while validating the immense emotional strain shouldered by unpaid carers globally.
What results is an unsparing, vital piece of biographical theatre that honours the bond between parent and child even as memory fades. Balanced between McWilliams’ versatile physical work and Steele’s steady storytelling, the show weaves its sombre truths with genuine warmth. It remains a bruised, deeply cathartic watch.
Sombre Truths and Genuine Warmth
The Woman in the Mirror runs at venue 288, Studio at ZOO Southside at 15:15
Running time – Sixty minutes without interval
Photo credit – Mandee Johnson
Review by Dominic Corr (contact@corrblimey.uk)
Editor of Corr Blimey, and a freelance critic for Scottish publications, Dominic has been writing freelance for several established and respected publications such as BBC Radio Scotland, The List, The Scotsman, Edinburgh Festival Magazine, The Reviews Hub, In Their Own League, The Wee Review and Edinburgh Guide. As of 2023, he is a member of the Critic’s Award for Theatre Scotland (CATS) and a member of the UK Film Critics.
