Tit(s) For Tat, Knockout Productions Review
Written by Emily for Theatre and Tonic.
Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in return for an honest review. All opinions are our own.
It’s 2017 when we first meet Danielle, Rosie, Ruby, Lily and Emily. The group of friends are marking the end of their A Levels with pre-drinks and a night out. They’re all excited to embark on the next stage of their lives and looking forward to a night of celebrations. We then meet the girls in the present day, at what turns out to be a therapy session. There are clearly some issues to be ironed out and friendships to be salvaged.
Over the course of the production, we are taken on a journey through the group’s friendship history, which spans 13 years. Flashback scenes are slotted between the scenes that take place in the therapy session. Each scene/time period is clearly marked on the pages of a flipchart, e.g. “2017 pre-drinks” and the titles of each activity in the therapy session. This is a helpful addition and a clear visual aid for the audience in terms of the different time periods presented.
All five actors are engaging and have created funny, relatable characters. Their interactions and mannerisms when portraying their characters as teenagers are convincing and definitely created a feeling of nostalgia for my own childhood friendships. Regardless of your age, you should be able to relate to the characters and friendship dynamics, particularly so if you were at/left school in 2010 and beyond.
One clever addition to the production is how Fanny, the group’s therapist, is presented. She is not present on stage in the play but is referred to and addressed throughout. If you’re in Edinburgh this summer and watch this production during its week-long run, I would avoid sitting front row centre if you don’t want to have your own special part to play. Yes, you guessed it- the role of Fanny is taken on by an audience member! Without giving too much away, there are no opportunities to add anything to the dialogue, but having Fanny as an audience member gives the actors somebody to focus on and deliver lines to at various points. As the person who was picked out to be Fanny at this performance, I can vouch for the fact that the concept adds to the humour of the production, and I enjoyed my small involvement in it!
Tit(s) for Tat is full of energy and thoughtfully written, with plenty of laugh out loud moments. It’s a well-observed depiction of female friendships and the actors excel at bringing their characters to life. If you’re at the Edinburgh Fringe in August, you should definitely add this show to your list.
Tit(s) for Tat will perform at theSpace on the Mile 19-24 August at 13:05.
☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
