Hear Me Raw – Underbelly Wee Coo, Edinburgh

Writer: Daniella Isaacs  

Director: Rosy Banham

Reviewer: R. G. Balgray

There’s a delicious moment at the start of Hear Me Raw, Daniella Isaac’s one-woman show at The Wee Coo, where a spillage moment stops her Green Girl persona (bright eyed, bushy-tailed wholesomeness and all) dead in her tracks.

It is, of course, all part of Isaac’s subversive plan: but it provokes a moment of queasiness, laughter and concern mingling on the faces of the audience. Cue clearer distinction made between Green Girl’s mantra of food fads and super-super foods, and the chapter of accidents befalling her lecturette (anyone who has a grudge against Power Point will love the disaster-proneness here). As the satire accelerates, the targets become clearer: our de jour obsessions with clean food and wellness. Isaacs doesn’t so much criticise these as carpet-bomb them with a range of tricks – a guilt-talking food processor, for instance, seems sooo this year. The slapstick helps, of course, and the pace all makes it seem pretty snappy; though latterly, as food gurus fall by the wayside, it’s slightly uncertain where it’s all going. Still, Isaacs makes a personable if over-medicalised companion for most of the audience for most of the time.

Runs until 27 August 2017 | Image: Contributed