The Forbidden

A smartly dressed, rather nervous looking woman greets us at the door with a half smile, mind clearly elsewhere. We settle down and now she's looking jittery on the stage. She informs us that Monsieur Petit Pois, who is to deliver today's lecture on “thinking” is delayed; she is merely his assistant. So, like Waiting for Godot as a one-person show, we wait with her as she moves from being largely silent to beginning to break free of the restrictions that she puts on herself, as well as those inflicted by her employer.

This is the debut solo show of Fanny Duret, better known at the Fringe as one fifth of Plague of Idiots, the Philippe Gaulier-trained clowning comedy cabaret group, and those clown skills are put to good effect here. It's a precise and neatly executed performance.

Remaining silent at the top of show is a brave move but serves to bed in the awkwardness of the character. It's gently quirky and inventive too, with Duret bringing her boss to life as a wizened old man prodding her in the chest to get her attention, then killing him off and portraying him as a ghost, using nothing more that a scrunched up white sheet. Elsewhere there are some simply silly moments, such as getting us to close our eyes while she plays the Peruvian flute—out of tune—to “relax” us.

The Forbidden is a lovely little show; a debut to be proud of.