May Contain Traces of Nuts – theSpace #Offies 2023 #NewNoms: #OffFest Edinburgh Fringe
Category:
OffFest
Year of Nomination:
2023
Nominee:
Nominee
Production:
May Contain Traces of Nuts
Venue:
theSpace
Company:
Fourth Wall
A fantastic show – stoner comedy, hang out show, rural drama, gender discussion, this show has it all, while maintaining a fantastic naturalism and ease. The chemistry between actors was unparalleled by every other Fringe show I saw, led by a powerhouse performance from Thea Stedman Jones. The writing was as delicate as a scalpel, the directing as assured as a mountain. My favourite late night show and one of my favourites of the Fringe!
This was the best show I saw at fringe!! Celestine Stilwell’s script was beautiful — devastating and hilarious in equal measure. The play managed to address a huge range of topics (grief, coming of age, rurality, trans-masculnity to name a few) without ever feeling either didactic or without aim. Each sentence and it’s delivery by the actors felt carefully considered.
As well as the writing, direction and acting, I loved the use of lighting and sound. The snippets of songs felt like invitations into the friendship group around which the play revolves. In contrast, I felt like the lighting invited us specifically into Frankie’s mind; the range of colours heightened the feeling of disorientation, mimicking his experience on drugs.
All in all, a truly fantastic play. I would love to see it again if it ends up touring!!
Honestly one of the most amazing plays I had the privilege of watching this year. The gentle yet phenomenal exploration of trans masculinity was remarkable and unseen anywhere else. The actors worked with an incredible script to create am atmosphere that left me in tears of pain and joy after the play. I really hope to see this play performed again elsewhere for it couldn’t be more relevant and profound.
This was so, so brilliant. Silly, moving, thoughtful, ridiculous and clever. The characters were immediately realised and immediately loveable, even in all their complexities and faults. A really tender, creative exploration of masculinity, growing up, grief, friendship and queerness. Had me laughing one moment and in tears the next. Beautiful structured and paced. A really beautiful thing!
amazing show, truly. showing a story that needs to be told and heard with wonderful actors and crew to make it an exceptional experience.
I loved this show! Trippy, funny, beautiful, and emotional. Both the acting and the writing are amazing and I tried to get everyone I know to grab tickets. I hope it comes back next year!!
Absolutely adored this show, definitely my favourite of the entire festival! Had you laughing one minute and crying the next, and the nuanced depth of each character made you fall into a hole of adolescent confusion, love and grief. The chemistry of the cast was brilliant and the script writing always surprising, self-assured and mature. Also, the exploration of queerness and masculinity with regards to small-town ideology was so fresh and relevant and left the audience glad for the late-night laughter but eager to reflect, to sit with the burst of vulnerability that cracked open a safe space for thinking past limits of caregiving, language and queerness. A true diamond of a show.
Having seen the first version of this show a year ago my standards were already pretty high. Yet, Stilwell’s rejuvenation of this script had me blown away. So naturalistic yet packed a character-y punch with comedic sections as well as physical theatre inspired elements that always kept me on my toes whilst ensuring the story remained cohesive. This production perfectly walked the fine line between pure entertainment and thought-provoking theatre – a balance I know the broader, professional theatre industry is striving towards. Can’t wait to see where it goes!!
I adored watching May Contain Traces of Nuts. Celestine’s script effortlessly bounces between the absurd, the flamboyant and the real. The cast make up a dynamic and utterly believable friendship group, navigating multi-tiered interrelationships seamlessly and yet, at key moments, these individuals also come together to form an engaging collective – welcoming you into their hivemind (or highvemind if you will). Thoroughly enjoyed this creative fever dream, and would happily call it one of the best late shows at the Fringe!
I was about 3 decades older than most of the rest of the audience and that saddened me because this is a play that should be reaching a much broader audience. It has some beautiful writing, the direction is excellent and the use of lighting and sound enhances the atmosphere of the whole piece and the mental state of Frankie. It is a wonderful ensemble production, with the cast gelling fantastically well, so the depth of those friendships and their history feels undeniably real. However, it is the subject matter that was new to me, and Thea Stedman Jones as Frankie helped me understand issues around gender transitioning by making me feel them. An astonishing performance. I laughed, I cried and my mind was broadened. Thank you to the whole cast and crew and I truly hope this production can reach a wider, more diverse audience.
‘May Contain Traces of Nuts’ was by far the best show that we saw at the Fringe, and I have thought about it again and again since. It made me laugh and left me devastated – sometimes within the same scene.
I live in rural Devon, and work therapeutically with young people; and I related so much to the characters and the history between them. The acting was magnificent, and from the opening scene I was transported into Frankie’s world. Celestine Stilwell’s writing was poised, and funny, and poetic – and we were taken on a collective journey into a small town world and issues of friendship, queerness, masculinity and gender identity. The production was slick and clever – the prompt to ‘eat your brownies’ was an invitation to join Frankie’s stoned perceptions, and the costume changes added a wonderful comic feel to the following scenes.
But this was essentially a dark play – the friends have gathered to remember a dead friend, and from the halfway point the writing and production really double down to create a devastating denouement. The still picture of the funeral was brilliantly evocative, and I was entranced by the final scenes which left me in tears. I agree with earlier commenters that it will be interesting to see where this play goes next – it would be great to see it at the Fringe again next year!