Rosalie Minnitt: Clementine 2 at Pleasance Courtyard Review
Rosalie Minnitt's one woman show, Clementine, was a big hit at the Fringe in 2023. Now, her Regency(ish) heroine, Lady Clementine, is back at the Fringe for another hour entirely lacking in Sense or Sensibility but promising plenty of unhinged comedy. In the first installment of Clementine's story she was looking for a husband - the proper aspiration of any Austenesque heroine. But this time she's setting out for the "big city", in search of something more.
Minnitt bursts onto the stage, a vision in pink, many shades of pink, barefoot and with a hairstyle that becomes more and more eccentric as the show progresses. She's got a glint in her eye, a huge smile on her face and a manic intensity that doesn't drop for a single beat. She takes us with her on Clementine's latest adventure, inviting audience members to become her close friends (Constance, Verity and Chastity, the slutty one), her suitors and even "the King", an audience cameo that involves the dramatic death throes of her selected monarch's choosing. She clearly delights in these interactions, shrieking with laughter and confidently maintaining eye contact with her captive and very responsive audience.
The show is very, very silly - with songs and characters that play on every perky theatre kid stereotype that Rosalie's teen self will have railed against (or possibly aspired towards). It’s Mean Girls meets Heathers on Acid and the rivalry we see play out between Clementine and her former friend Satsuma is anything but gentile. It's deliciously chaotic and runs at a cracking pace. The resolution could maybe do with a little tightening but, that aside, it's a rollercoaster ride of mayhem, expertly delivered, that will leave you looking forward to whatever Clementine 3 may have in store for us!
When a show isn't good, Clementine advises us that we should call it "Brave! Urgent! Important!". She's certainly brave to throw herself so wholeheartedly and exuberantly into the performance. But instead of a worthy piece with an urgent and (self)important message, this is an hour of high-octane, laugh-out-loud camaraderie that will chase away any mid-afternoon Fringe fatigue ready for an evening carving out your own new adventures in the big city!
Clementine 2 is at Pleasance Courtyard until 30th August 2026.
★★★★
Written by Penny for Theatre and Tonic, August 2026.