 Padlem arrived at the festival under heavy anticipation, not least because of the pedigree of its writer David Jonsson, and it doesn’t disappoint in ambition. This is a sharp, provocative look at amateur pornography, friendship, race, desire, and the blurred spaces between them.
The premise unfolds with deceptive simplicity. After a day at a wedding, Megan (Tash Cowley) jokes that weddings make everyone horny and it’s an observation that becomes prophecy when she ends up back at her ex Kevin’s (Michael Workéyè) flat. Walking in on him mid-masterbation, watching porn of a couple he may well be collaborating with, Megan is intrigued rather than appalled. The sexual tension ignites, and in the heat of the moment they record themselves without meaning to. What begins as shock quickly transforms into a kind of discovery: Megan finds power, pride, and even joy in how the footage displays her body, their chemistry, and the quality of their sex. From there, the two begin producing content together. The opening act excels, grounded in the lived-in chemistry between Cowley and Workéyè whose performances breathe authenticity into Megan and Kevin’s tangled dynamic. Their banter and the physical ease between them feel utterly believable, pulling us into the heady push-pull of exes drifting back into intimacy. The middle third, though less effective, leans heavily on the mechanics of porn production. While it’s necessary to show how far they’ll go by escalating to group sex - some of the momentum dissipates here. The thematic richness that defines the play risks being overshadowed by the novelty of the set-up. At times, you wish the runtime were extended: given more space, these sections could better serve as stepping stones to the deeper conflicts instead of distractions from them. It’s in the final act, however, that Padlem truly roars. What begins as a story about sex and spectacle morphs into a piercing interrogation of race, culture, and identity. The confrontation between Megan and Kevin—an interracial couple—lands with a hell of a climax. Kevin questions Megan’s use of Black vernacular, her cultural touchpoints, and whether her attraction is rooted in fetishisation. The fight is ferocious, not just in words but in the emotional rawness Cowley and Workeye pour into it. It’s electric, visceral theatre and the kind that makes the room gasp and leaving the audience pinned to their seats. If the play stumbles in its middle act, it nevertheless concludes in a place of rare power as this final third defines Padlem. It’s not simply about pornography or even intimacy, but about the politics of who gets to desire whom, and how identity can be consumed, borrowed, or weaponised. Cowley and Workéyè are brilliant giving performances of extraordinary courage and nuance. This feels like a star turn for both Cowley and Workéyè. The intimacy, volatility, and humour they bring to the stage mark them as performers destined for great things. There’s a fearlessness in their work - whether in the tenderness together, the rawness of an argument, or the vulnerability of exposing flawed desire and that makes Padlem as much their showcase as it is Jonsson’s. It’s hard to imagine leaving the theatre without the conviction that these are two actors on the cusp of remarkable careers. Lee Hutchison 4/5 Paldem Venue:TechCube 0 at Summerhall Dates: August 23rd-25th Time: 2100 Tickets: www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/paldem |
|
