Katie Guicciardi makes her debut at Edinburgh Fringe with her one-woman show Fox. It’s a superbly written and poignant piece of theatre about navigating motherhood.
The way Katie addresses the audience is like you’re sat in her front room having a cup of tea. She is warm and talks gently about the complexity of her feelings around becoming a mother. Katie expresses: “Everyone just calls me mummy, or mum now. I had a name before. Where did that go?”
It’s a captivating story and Katie’s storytelling is faultless. She sits in her flat with her newborn baby, staring out of the window at a homeless man who has set himself up outside. Someone has left him a duvet and people start dropping off food, she sees him chatting to neighbours and becomes instantly obsessed. The seamless writing tells this story as if you are right there with her, experiencing every moment. Katie’s growing concern over the homeless man emits a guilt that manifests inside her. She starts to compare the wellbeing of this homeless man to her new job of being a mother.
Staring to feel responsible for this man outside, she begins to watch his every move intently whilst she builds up the courage to speak to him – in hopes to absolve her guilt. Growing more tired and helpless, Katie’s story isn’t unique.
She is isolated but is struggling to ask for help. Feeling her life slip through her fingers she starts trying to figure out who she is again. She is losing herself whilst wondering why the homeless man isn’t taking care of himself. As her mental health declines and her post natal depression sinks in, she quietly but intensely starts to drift away from feeling like a mother.
Katie is incredibly likeable and forms an instant connection with the audience. You feel empathy for her, which is audible as many women in the audience are nodding their heads. It’s sublime writing and the performance is entirely engaging throughout.
Fox is a moving and affective show about a woman thrown into motherhood and struggling to come to terms with her new identity.
★★★★
Fox is on at Edinburgh Fringe at Pleasance Courtyard at 11:30am.
