Amy Merrigan
Chip is as tough as boots – “I know people think it’s horrible, girls fighting, but those f*cks aren’t from Dublin.” Her Da lost his job when she was seven and she’s been scooping him up from the pub floor ever since. Leper is infectiously cocky and crudely hilarious, ever on his wits and bouncing back. He wasn’t much good at school but had a soft spot for Shakespeare.
It’s boy meets girl, but could not be less conventional. Leper and Chip meet at a party, or rather during a fight at a party. They bump into each other the next day, during a chase through Dublin which involves stealing a child’s bike, legging it from a taxi and careering though a load of old folks on the bus. This boy and girl are from different sides of urban, brawling inner city Dublin. After the party that turns into a fight, their paths cross again and again.
Lee Coffee’s ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ new play is a whirlwind of a story told through a series of monologues and dialogues between the cast of two. Cleverly plotted and layered, we get a window into the pair’s lives over the course of 24 hours. Blinking rows of light bulbs frames the otherwise blank stage and sharp, minimalist lighting punctuates the pair’s roller-coaster of a tale.
Drenched in sweat by the end and speaking what feels like a million words a minute, Conall Keating and Amilia Stewart command the stage in a way that demands complete attention. High-octane doesn’t cover it; it’s the most captivating two-person show I’ve seen in a long time. An enthralling adrenaline rush of a story, Leper + Chip is the kind of show to make you both laugh and cry.
Leper + Chip is playing at Assembly Roxy from 15-17, 19-24, 26-31 August as part as the Edinburgh Fringe, for more information see the Festival website.