Red Like Fruit
★★★★☆ Raw theatricality
Traverse (Venue 15): Thu 31 Jul – Sun 24 Aug 2025
Review by Hugh Simpson
Red Like Fruit, from 2b theatre company of Nova Scotia at the Traverse, deals with difficult themes in a way that is both subtle and impressively staged.
In Hannah Moscovitch’s play, seen here for the first time in Europe, Lauren (Michelle Monteith), is a journalist working on a story about a high-profile domestic violence case. Lauren, for reasons left largely unexplained, has enlisted Luke (David Patrick Flemming) to narrate her own history, which keeps returning to events ranging from miscalculation to sexual assault.
Michelle Monteith (Lauren) in Red Like Fruit. Pic: Riley Smith
There’s an apparent simplicity to the staging – one figure sitting on a chair largely silent, another figure talking – that conceals an almost endlessly complex narrative.
Who exactly is Luke, and why has Lauren chosen him to tell her story? His tone is actorly, almost detached, his manner solicitous to the point of condescension. What does his presence add? A traditionally ‘male’ authority that gives credence to Lauren’s stories, or a lack of understanding that undermines them?
It is not just a simple matter of sexist mansplaining, however, as Lauren’s own reactions soon make clear.
content warnings
The layers of complications do not in any sense lessen the impact of the situations that are described, or the questions of complicity, consent, misogyny and the male gaze that arise. On the contrary, the questions that Lauren asks herself about her experiences and her reactions to them simply add to the reality. This has the effect of making much of the content even more disturbing than it might otherwise be; it is certainly a play where content warnings should be heeded by anyone who might feel triggered.
Moscovitch’s writing is flinty, yet endlessly subtle. Christian Barry’s direction has an unusual clarity, not afraid of stillness and paying close attention to the smallest detail.
David Patrick Flemming (Luke) with Michelle Monteith (Lauren) in Red Like Fruit. Pic: Riley Smith
Kaitlin Hickey’s strikingly minimalist design means Monteith constantly commands the attention even as she says so little. The lighting (by Hickey and associate Alison Crosby) is also beautifully considered.
The result is a compelling staging, with echoes of later Beckett. What could come across in simple description as more like a radio play is resolutely visual. This is largely due to Monteith’s excellent performance as she reacts, mostly wordlessly, to her experiences being relayed back to her.
impressive
Flemming is also impressive as the mysterious, eager-to-please Luke – whose desire to make the various characters in Lauren’s tale come alive adds yet another layer to proceedings.
It is certainly possible that audiences might find Red Like Fruit both troubling and even exasperating. In the end, however, the cleverness of the play is wholly in the service of its emotional content.
Running time: One hour and 15 minutes (no interval)
Traverse Theatre (Trav 2), 10 Cambridge St, EH1 2ED. (Venue 15).
Thursday 31 July – Sunday 24 August 2025
Daily (not Mon): various times. See website for details.
Tickets and details: Book here on EdFringe.com.
Traverse website: Further details.
2b theatre company website: https://www.2btheatre.com/.
Michelle Monteith (Lauren) in Red Like Fruit. Pic: Riley Smith
ENDS
