Review: FREAK OUT!, Fringe 2024

“FREAK OUT!”, which I’ll just call “Freak Out!” from now, is quite an experience.

If the Edinburgh Fringe reflects today’s society and zeitgeist, then the incoming financial and social impact of coastal erosion is a concern. That might not sound scary, but it is, and if you watch “Freak Out!” then you’ll believe me. Of course, this is the social good that “Freak Out!” does while being entertaining in a slightly avant-garde way.

Avant-garde? The front row is at risk of being splashed as performers take turns nearly drowning themselves in buckets of water. That might sound silly, but it’s quite powerful! The head ducking takes place alternatively during a conversation.

I was given cake. I had already made a mental note to complain about a cake crime when a perfectly good slice was crushed in hand and allowed to dribble down to represent soil (I presume) trickling into the sea. Later, the remaining cake was handed out to the audience in a party scene.

One-eyed Punk, a sandcastle of my design, did not win the sandcastle decorating contest.

So, audience participation and surreal moments are mashed into a deadly serious point.

Tone

Freak Out! is a sombre play from a young troupe. It’s based on reality, anchored on reality, and a sure-as-houses bet on our near future… except, as the play makes very clear, if your house is near the sea, then the future of our home is not that sure.

If your house is not near the sea, you’ll have to deal with rising insurance costs, house prices, ecological migration, and weather damage.

One surreal moment involves someone in goggles and a swim cap singing their way on the stage and coordinating the audience with games. I cannot tell whether this character was supposed to be friendly, creepy, or both.

Later, in the play’s most violent scene, we see this same seaside avatar relentlessly clubbed by an angry crowd. It wasn’t mime. You could hear the impact. I think it would have upset children. The show has a 12+ suggested age rating.

I’m not sure there’s much hope in “Freak Out!” either. There’s no happy ending. There’s a debate about whether spending millions on a temporary sea wall is worth it. There’s no consensus. Perhaps we need a fair way to compensate people who will lose their homes and family life in the next few decades, and perhaps if that bill is higher than what it would cost to change government policy and fine businesses, then we might start being more urgent.

What to expect

It feels a bit cruel to file “Freak Out!” in the “weird stuff you see at the Fringe” folder, but I’m putting it there anyway because it’s loaded with weirdness. The actors pretend, I think, to be the wind or the waves.

Weird does not mean false, though. The play’s name, “Freak Out!” is appropriate because you can watch this, understand what might happen and react with a freakout. I wouldn’t blame you.

Expect lots of audience engagement, surreal moments, and some rather good multi-media moments and imagination.

There’s a cast of about eight or so people, and as the hour unfolds, we spend time with each of them. These people, who feel very real, all have unique perspectives – like the business owner who has bought a building in the probably doomed town and his wife is angry at him for doing so. There’s the student who thinks that nature will do what nature does and residents who think everyone should pool their money into collective defense. There’s the local councillor who does their best but who cuts and runs first, feeling unsafe, unthanked and scared. Worryingly, there could be any one of us.

Don’t expect cake—there might not be enough. But do expect violence, and I would say if you’re feeling fragile, then you might find some of the scenes challenging.

Overall

“FREAK OUT!” is important. It is ahead of the curve, one of the first but, I suspect, not the last comments by the artistic community of the Fringe on the ecological dystopia we’re hurtling into.

I thought I would be bored when “FREAK OUT!” started and that I’d sat myself down for an hour of pretentious nature sounds. I was very wrong, and by the end of the hour, I was thoroughly glad of my ticket.

Toughen up and book yourself a “FREAK OUT!”