Abigail Weinstock’s play about a woman who believes she’s a sociopath is a warmly funny and eye-opening hour
Eliana, the narrator of Giraffe, written by Abigail Weinstock and colourfully directed by Emma Jude Harris, stands apart. Not only literally, as she’s an unusually long-limbed queer Jewish woman, but mentally: unable to identify and convey emotions in a way that could be deemed ‘normal’, Eliana concludes early in life that she must be a sociopath. When the play starts, she’s just received a restraining order from her neighbour after another failed attempt to study human behaviour, and embarks on a two-week quest to prove her normalcy before the court and her loved ones.
Weinstock, who also stars, has created a lovable and witty character whose journey of self-discovery is impossible not to root for. Whether at her new drama therapy group, which includes an eccentric teacher and a potential love interest; navigating the lingering grief of losing her mother at a young age; or, most impactfully, bonding with the selectively mute six-year-old daughter of the family friend she’s been sent to stay with, Eliana has a clear, entertaining voice that provides layers to each plot point in a well-paced script. Giraffe uses effective metaphors from nature to faith to tell an original story about neurodivergence and coming of age.
Toward the end, some loose ends are tied up a little too quickly, some questions we’ve had for a while – for instance, about the olive tree Eliana is so sad to be leaving behind at her childhood home – are answered before we have enough time to digest them. The premise of stalking is a juicy one, but sometimes seems a bit extreme. We know, for instance, that the restraining order comes after a wiretapping incedent, but we don’t learn a lot about any of Eliana’s other escapades. Nitpicks aside, however, Giraffe is a warm, winning Fringe offering that shows you no matter how little we may understand ourselves, we are not alone or broken.
By Maia Kahn
Photo by Rebecca Need-Menear
Giraffe runs until Monday 31 August. 1.45pm. £13, £12 concs. Cellar @ Pleasance Courtyard, EH8 9TJ. edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/giraffe