As a retired One Direction Wattpad fan fiction writer, Slash was one of the first plays on my list this Edinburgh Fringe. New York duo Leah Hennessey and Emily Allan have created an entire play dedicated to the imagining of homoerotic fictional relationships, becoming the camp comedy of any audience member’s dreams.
The play begins as an exercise in desire and eroticism between The Blond and the Dark Haired One, wearing only skin-tight black leotards and tights. What unfolds throughout this ‘exercise’ is a lesson in parody. Clever, sharp, and hilarious, they shift through some of pop culture’s most famous duos (Betty and Veronica/John and Paul/Sherlock and Watson). And although heavy in text, you can’t help but be swept up by the spit fire pace and energy surging through these two performers.
Hennessey and Allan are totally in-sync, and despite how quick they can move between a multitude of erratic and delightful characters, they are still able to find moments of tenderness. It is in these moments of emotional openness that illuminate the essence of the slash genre, in which vulnerability, communication and respect take center stage. The genius of the show lies in its subversive nature. During a scene with Susan Sontag that takes on the form of a popular 90’s talk show taping, that then devolves into an intellectual debate around pornography and feminism, the play flips onto itself, and provides an analysis of these themes in a larger sociopolitical context.
It may sound slightly academic, but it’s packaged in a wildly entertaining and ridiculously fabulous show that will leave you gulping for air between laughs. There simply isn’t another show like this at the Fringe this year.
Slash is on at the Red Lecture Theatre, Summerhall, at 22.15 until 27 August (excepting Monday 21 August). Tickets available here https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/slash .
Image courtsey of Slash, provided to The Student as press material.