Jake Roche has lived many lives before coming to the Edinburgh Fringe. He grew up with famous parents (if you didn’t guess that from the show’s title), was briefly on a soap, was briefly the lead singer of a band, and is now, at 31, trying to unpack his need for fame and attention.
His one-man show Neporrhoids (yes that is a mashup of the words nepotism and hemorrhoids) addresses his rise and fall with his band Rixton, his engagement to a certain member of Little Mix, and his relationship with his father, EastEnders legend Shane Richie. Hemorrhoids have surprisingly little airtime given the name of the show, but they are a successful metaphor for Roche’s own desire for fame destroying him from the inside out.
At times, one-man shows can feel overly self-indulgent. Not everyone’s lives are interesting enough to go onstage and monologue for an hour. Jake Roche does not have that problem. He has lived a life that many are desperate to have the curtain pulled back on.
Neporhhoids showcases Roche’s talents as an entertainer. Every minute of the show is obviously perfectly timed, as made obvious by the pre-recorded exposition device that acts opposite Roche, but it never feels overwrought. Jake Roche brings a slightly manic energy that very successfully keeps the audience’s energy and attention. Roche is his own tech crew, utilising a minimal set for maximum comedic and dramatic effect.
Although some parts of the production leaned a bit towards therapy-mandated art, Neporrhoids did a fair job of steering his passion project back towards entertainment. His conversations with his father were particularly effective at grounding the show, made even more poignant at the show I went to, as his dad was in the audience.
I wish he had dedicated more time to his life post-Rixton and post-rock bottom– it would have been interesting to know how Roche navigated life between the ages of 25 and 31, but these years felt off-limits, perhaps the wounds are still a bit too raw.
There is only so much empathy nepo babies can garner from the general public, but Jake Roche seems to be near the upper threshold. A well thought out and executed production, Neporhhoids is something that Roche should be incredibly proud of.
Jake Roche: Neporhhoids is on at 15:35 in Pleasance Beside until 25 August.
Buy tickets here.
Image by Massimiliano Giorgeschi provided by Pleasance Press Office