ED2015 4/5 Reviews ED2015 Theatre Reviews

Backstage In Biscuit Land (Touretteshero)

By Rebecca Jacobson | Published on Friday 28 August 2015

In the words of a friend, Jess Thom is a “crazy language-generating machine”. The source of her brilliance? Tourette’s, a neurological condition that causes uncontrollable verbal and physical tics. So Thom spends a lot of time repeating the words “biscuit” and “hedgehog”, but also spits delightfully surrealistic turns of phrase – something about Bananarama and sandcastles, or a caution against washing your groin with a kiwi fruit. Joined by the perpetually game Jess Mabel Jones, Thom allows us to laugh, while also asking important questions about what constitutes “appropriate” audience behaviour. “I know this is the only seat in the house I won’t be asked to leave,” she says. Thank goodness – it’d be a crime to shut down anything so ebullient and moving.

Pleasance Courtyard, until 30 Aug.
tw rating 4/5 | [Rebecca Jacobson]