Nesting tells the story of Francis (played by Billy Mack) being diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease and becoming increasingly dependent on his pregnant daughter Emma (played by Francesca Hess). As his condition progresses he distances himself from his daughter, spending time at the park where he meets a supernatural seagull (played by Michael Guest) who offers a solution—that the gull nest inside his body, live as him, and relieve his daughter of his ever-increasing care needs.
In this gut-wrenching depiction of the guilt felt by older men requiring caregiving support from their children, Mack’s performance is moving and grounded, even when the plot takes absurd turns. He masterfully portrays being drawn to extreme decisions by the desperate desire to not become a burden to loved ones, as independence and perceived masculinity are stripped away.
Hess also gives a compelling performance, doing an incredible job conveying Emma’s struggle, and the deficiency in adequate support mechanisms. One particularly affecting moment sees Emma reaching her wits end and desperately explaining the impossibility of her situation to Dr Bell (Peter McCormick), then putting her hands out—as if begging—to which he mirrors the gesture back to her in a manner akin to a slight shrug while replying. This choice of gesture in performance has a powerful impact on the scene, which on the whole is truly moving in its powerful demonstration of the institutional barriers within the NHS and the challenges faced by care-givers—usually women—due to the inadequacies of social care in the UK.
Despite the sombre aspects, there is no shortage of comedy in this endlessly witty play. Michael Guest’s captivating portrayal of the Gull is intensely physical; he truly becomes a bird on that stage, and the character has a breadth of amusing quirks. The show balances the serious with the unserious perfectly. It has wonderfully written side-splitting remarks and an abundance of comically absurd moments, including the Gull encouraging Francis to take inspiration from Keith Moon and kick a cable-tied blind-folded dog—the prop itself earning much laughter.
Throughout the play, the lighting and score elevates the performance. This particularly shines in the finale slow motion fight sequence. The choice to slow this scene down, accompanied by the strobe lighting, avoids the scene being messy or cluttered: delivering a precise, enthralling, dramatic moment that sustains the tone of the piece. This is also aided by the seamlessly fluid incorporation of the dynamic set pieces.
With it being the last day of the Fringe I had wanted to see one more show – suggesting to a friend we see a stand-up comic or something else that would be a good laugh. They unknowingly picked Nesting, and though I sobbed several times throughout the hour, I laughed an equal amount – my only regret is not having seen it sooner.
Nesting ran until 31 August at Summerhall.
Image by Alex Brenner, provided to The Student as press material.
