What is it like to be the solo audience member at a fringe performance? I found out at a range of shows designed to give the viewer exactly this experience
I’m standing on an Edinburgh street corner waiting for my next show but things feel a little different: I’m in a queue of just one. However, this has not been a terrible day for ticket sales – it is entirely deliberate. The play I’m about to see, You’re Needy (Sounds Frustrating), sells a single seat for each performance and the production is built specifically for one audience member. The team behind it, tasteinyourmouth, are not alone in their endeavours at the fringe, which has long presented shows designed for solitary viewers.
A young woman approaches, introducing herself as “Carrie’s sister”, and leads me up many flights of stairs to a flat. “She’s ready for you,” she tells me, and opens the door of the bathroom, encouraging me to take the lone seat next to the tub to meet the wellness obsessed Carrie (a part played by the show’s co-founder, Laoise Murray).