I started this production on particularly impressive form at Edinburgh Fringe
“Paper Cups,” I told the usher.
No. No, Andrew.
Paper Cuts.
Sorry.
Although a play about paper cups could perhaps be Emma and Evie Productions’ sequel. I’ll expect a small credit.
The show’s premise sees a spiralling woman accidentally attending a children’s origami class, where she has to endure paper cuts, screaming children and the seemingly impossible task of folding a piece of paper.
Will she crumple under the pressure?
Paper Cuts wasn’t originally amongst my plans to see at the Fringe, but some unexpected space appeared in my diary and I decided to give it a go.
Walking into the venue, I was met by a stage absolutely covered in paper.
So perhaps don’t bring matches.
This is a solo performance, and almost immediately the concept intrigued me.
What initially appears relatively stable and organised gradually begins to unravel. As the play progresses, we watch the central character descend further into chaos, and that transition becomes the heart of the production.
The performer gives a very good performance in the role.
Importantly, the deterioration isn’t simply announced to us through dialogue. There are lots of little acting subtleties that reinforce what is happening. Changes in behaviour, reactions and mannerisms gradually reveal that underneath the surface, things aren’t quite as together as they initially appeared.
As an audience member, I felt I was witnessing the character’s descent rather than simply being told about it.
That’s an important distinction.
The production explores vulnerability and strength alongside the realities and pressures of a person’s life. There’s something very human underneath the origami, paper and chaos, and the audience becomes invested in the woman at the centre of it.
There is also some shadow-box play incorporated into the production, which I thought worked particularly well.
It provides a visual change from the dialogue and gives the production another theatrical element to play with. In a solo show, where one performer has to maintain an audience’s attention for the entire performance, those changes in style can make a considerable difference.
I could also clearly see what the writer was trying to achieve with the production.
However, in its current format, Paper Cuts isn’t quite a five-star show for me.
Yet.
And I think that “yet” is important.
There is something exciting sitting inside this production that I don’t think has been completely brought to the surface.
For me, the show needs another dramatic punch. It needs that moment where everything that’s been gradually building suddenly lands.
Basically, I wanted an EastEnders cliffhanger.
Not necessarily somebody dramatically appearing in the doorway while the drums kick in, obviously, but that same feeling of something happening that makes the audience collectively think: “Oh.”
The character’s gradual descent is interesting and the audience becomes invested in her, but I wanted a stronger clincher somewhere within that journey.
Whether that comes through further development of the script or through exploring with the director how certain moments are portrayed is something for the creative team to decide.
But the foundations are absolutely there.
And that’s why I’d be interested to see Paper Cuts again after further development.
Fringe productions don’t necessarily have to arrive as completely finished articles. Edinburgh can be somewhere to discover what works, see how audiences respond and identify the elements that could push a production onto another level.
Paper Cuts has a strong central performance, an interesting concept and some clever theatrical touches.
With a little more drama and a bigger emotional payoff, I think there is the potential for an outstanding production to emerge.
For now, it’s a worthy and intriguing piece of theatre that has left me wanting the creative team to dig a little deeper and find what’s hiding underneath all that paper.
Just don’t call it Paper Cups.
★★★★ 4 Stars- A beautifully performed exploration of vulnerability and chaos.
https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/paper-cuts-and-other-small-tragedies
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