Scottee’s new show ‘Class’ isn’t just a piece of theatre, but it’s an education. Class is an eye-opening and painfully important show about the class system.
Scottee unashamedly directs his story to the audience with vigour. At times, it’s a show that is hard to watch, but that is exactly why people should be watching it. He doesn’t tell a story and then neatly wrap it up in a bow, he makes you squirm in your seat, not wanting to make eye-contact. As a working-class performer, he talks about his experiences and the issues in the class system that aren’t getting any better.
It’s a punch in the gut and Scottee addresses the audience brutally. Considering a majority of Edinburgh Fringe is made up of the white middle class, his show is an imperative addition to the festival. Walking in, you are asked to use your green Waitrose tokens to make a vote. What do the working class need more? Love or money.
Scottee breaks down stereotypes. Being poor isn’t about being on the latest channel four reality show like Benefits Street, it’s so much more than that. Scottee tells us about his upbringing growing up on a Council Estate in London. It’s unsettling, but will also make you laugh as it pokes fun at the middle class.
Asking the audience to cheer if they’re middle class, it’s a horrifically awkward moment. Who wants to celebrate outwardly about being privileged? But it’s a pivotal moment that really gets the audience thinking. Scottee is ferocious and the ending is shockingly bleak, but it does what theatre is all about – to tell different stories. It’s a thought-provoking piece of theatre that not only tells Scottee’s story, but the lives of so many people in the UK who are living in poverty and how that shapes them.
Watch it, learn something and change your perspective.
★★★★
Class is on at Edinburgh Fringe at Assembly Roxy at 16:05.
