Jade Franks’ celebrated one-woman show has plenty of big laughs (and a lot of dancing too), but it’s all driven by real anger and pain, which is barely concealed by the wonderfully rude Liverpudlian wit.
Franks energetically hoofs a little before settling at a desk to explain how her tale began at a tedious call centre, where her only excitement was playing games with people who thought she was thick because she’s Scouse. Ambitiously deciding to apply to Cambridge University, she was accepted and soon headed south to commence a cleaning job for extra cash before the term started, which caused thorny problems later on when it was revealed that students weren’t supposed to have jobs.
But, of course, her various filthy rich classmates didn’t have to work, and thoughtlessly waved their money and privilege around while making nasty fun of her accent. Detailing how she quickly made friends with Hermes, who didn’t care where she was from, there’s plenty of scathing observations of how the uppity classes behaved before we get to the real crux of the narrative. And it stings.
Elements of Jade’s story have already been compared to Educating Rita and Pygmalion, but those dated stories don’t feature protagonists baring their souls solo, leaping about to Dua Lipa hits, or offering this level of real rage.
Rating: four stars!
For tickets and more information on Eat The Rich (But Maybe Not Me Mates x), visit: adelaidefringe.com.au or holdenstreettheatres.com
