EDINBURGH 2026 Review: FATHER, AWAY SHE GOES, ZOO Playground
Runs until 30 August.
Meet Sarah Jones: mediocre artist, terrible friend, compulsive liar, awful narcissist. While her classmates are virtue signalling in order to get into art school, she’s busy being rejected for being herself. Or, is she? Electra Kolb writes an excellent antihero. Her debut play is a piercing examination of ambition and cruelty.
Though it takes too long to pay off, resisting the temptation to be fully original by choosing a series of tropes instead, Father, Away She Goes demonstrates that she has an knack for character analysis and an exquisite penchant for deadpan sarcasm.
She paints a self-victimising, self-aggrandising problem-child who blames everything but herself. Her toxic traits are instant reasons not to believe a word she says, but Kolb’s sneaky aptitude for cunning and brilliant charisma keep tugging us to her side. We watch on as she exploits people’s kindness and seeks vengeance rather than acceptance.
A piece that starts as something that desperately wants to have the same kick as Fleabag but isn’t really able to take a step in that direction grows into an exciting psychological thriller in the last 15 minutes.
It’s a testament to Kolb’s writing. While this project isn’t perfect, she re-introduces herself as a talented 18-year-old who has a shiny, sparkling future ahead of her. Her writing is subtle yet caustic, and her performance is controlled in its tonal fluctuations. If she isn’t on your list of new artists to keep an eye on, she most definitely should be now.
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