Glitz, glamour and a sense of cabaret charm. The protagonist’s hair dipped with a blue tinge, and a hilariously alarming chicken costume: Walking on Eggshells is a darkly buoyant allegory for domestic abuse. While a tad too many egg jokes are cracked, and some don’t land, Scissor Kick and Siren Theatre Company’s production boasts a warm, joyful, and colourful flavour which applauds the recovery from ‘walking on eggshells.’
Stepping into the auditorium, the production team made accessibility and preparedness a priority. Queuing in Summerhall’s much-loved corridors, we are greeted with an optional content warnings sheet, which clearly laid out some of the spoilers and events in the show. Preparing and arming the audience with this information is impressive, alongside the option of support from a trained professional about the themes. This does shroud over the production slightly, setting a precedent for action. Whilst the captions are admirable, the acknowledgment of them at the start of the show seems a little too much, and their prominence in the space is slightly overbearing. Due to their position carved into the set, they become a key set piece.
This production does well with its bold, personable larger-than-life Emma Lynne Harley, who is impressive and infectious. She is deeply honest, appreciated, and precise in her style. The audience feels honoured to hear her story, and the variety of perspectives which she can offer, from David Attenborough to a doctor. In such a story, these perspectives are important to identify humour and support the audience in their process of understanding the speaker’s experience of domestic abuse.
Written by Harley, the script does well to capture eggs in every way and cling together this theme into the storyline. Clever composition and playfulness from Harley produces a piece which is busy and engulfing. Jokes come from every angle, although David Attenborough and David Tennant moments do sometimes seem a little tagged on.
The comedy does fall short in places, alongside the singing from Harley, with some awkward hiatuses in action and jokes which do not deliver. This leaves a slight awkwardness among the audience. Though it is important to punctuate moments of pain and trauma with these moments, as the piece continues, these sections do leave the tone a bit muddled. Cabaret moments are not stitched perfectly into the piece, and tend to fall flat.
That does not stop the wow-factor which is conventionally found in cabaret — thanks to direction by Becky Hope-Palmer and lighting design by Benny Goodman, the audience is blown away by dynamic and electric lighting not far from Eurovision levels.
With its egg metaphors laced throughout, this production is highly dynamic and the protagonist honest and likeable. While some egg links appear a bit too prominent, this production offers a delightful balance of comedy and horrific exploration into domestic abuse.
Photo by Mihaela Bodlovic, provided by Scissor Kick as press material.