Revu Paper Cuts (and other small tragedies)

“Paper Cuts (and other small tragedies) ” Poster

Unfolding into something quite nice…:Paper Cuts (and other small tragedies)

Paper Cuts (and other small tragedies) is the debut show of Emma and Evie Production, a one woman show about a woman, her horrific day in a children’s origami class, and our expectations of ourselves. 

The woman is played by Emma Judge - who is strong in her role - and directed well by Nicole Austin Paige. She holds the space well and is willing to play a character who genuinely has flaws and can be abrasive but equally has their charms too. Their natural competitiveness with the children in the class is charming, her utter revulsion could be off putting to some. She is a genuine character and not an archetype that lesser one person shows often fall victim too, Ashlee Austin’s script is well crafted in that regard

Paper Cuts (and other small tragedies) is at its best when it breaks from the traditional motifs of a one person show and hits us with set pieces. There’s an excellent section dedicated to the “murder” of the woman’s childhood teddy bear. Another simple, yet effective moment in which she is repeatedly hushed in the origami classroom. Finally - the highlight of the show - is a puppetry sequence in which the woman recounts a story of her childhood about a hedgehog. These moments are genuinely inspired and are where the whole production truly finds its voice. 

The origami metaphor that serves as one of the major ideas of the piece is one of the best realised metaphors in a one person show in quite some time. 

However, other ideas feel far less realised. There is some analysis on the difficulty of gender and the language used in a patriarchal world but it has nowhere near the depth of  the origami exploration. At times in between these set pieces the quality of the script can feel like it is lowering and becoming simply a vehicle to get from A to B. Finally, a beat close to the end of the script feels unnecessary and is a large moment where the production feels like it is falling into one person show cliche. 

Paper Cuts (and other small tragedies) almost knows how good it is, and with some changes it could be even better.

Tickets can be found here: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/paper-cuts-and-other-small-tragedies

3/5 Stars

By Ethan H.M.M