 A nameless Irish graduate heads from Dublin to London, chasing the dream of working in a prestigious art gallery. But London greets her not with open doors, but with a relentless string of rejections. Then, by sheer accident, she crosses paths with Isabelle - a well-heeled socialite who takes an offhand joke about being “cut off by Daddy” at face value. In a case of mistaken identity, Isabelle becomes convinced she’s met “Florence,” an Englishwoman of equally rarefied origins. Swept along by the misunderstanding, our protagonist slips into this new persona, and through Isabelle’s influence, gains entry into the rarefied world of high art, high prices and high society.
Like William Makepeace Thackeray’s Barry Lyndon - another Irish outsider with a knack for slipping between social strata - Florence explores the intoxicating and dangerous ease with which a sharp mind and a quick tongue can infiltrate rarefied worlds. But while Barry’s 18th-century climb relied on duels, dowries, and battlefield bravado, our nameless leads ascent is forged in art galleries and champagne receptions. In both cases, the outsider’s skill lies in reading a room, reshaping themselves to fit it, and masking the faint trace of an accent that can betray their origins. The film is acutely aware of the snobbery that persists in certain corners of London high society, where an Irish lilt may still be a quiet barrier. At the heart of this deception is writer and actor, Honor Santa Barnes, delivering a showcase and slippery performance. She moves between the wide-eyed, slightly awkward behaviour of a Dublin art graduate and the polished, razor-sharp invention of “Florence” with the skill of a safecracker. As the ruse deepens, her transformations become more rapid and ragged, the neat compartments between the two selves collapsing into a tangle of panic and bravado. It’s a turn that recalls Jodie Comer at her Killing Eve peak and not just for the parade of accents (Barnes flits between Irish, English, Scottish, Australian and more with unnerving ease), but for the way she uses them as weapons. The play toys deliciously with the idea of confidence - both the kind you project and the kind you feel and how easily it can blur into con artistry. Florence begins as a character in the theatrical sense, a persona tried on like a new coat. But the longer she wears it, the harder it becomes to know where the performance ends and the person begins. Barnes’s script leans fully into this slipperiness, charting the perilous incline where each successful bluff tempts a bolder one, until the thrill of getting away with it curdles into the dread of being exposed. The tension doesn’t hinge on grand revelations, but on the slow, unnerving erosion of truth and of the self. Lee Hutchison 4/5 Florence Venue: Lime Studio at Greenside @ George Street Dates: August 15th to 23rd (excluding 17th) Time: 1235 Tickets: www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/florence |
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