EDINBURGH 2026: Review: ROSALIE MINNITT: CLEMENTINE 2, Pleasance Courtyard - Beside
Rosalie Minnitt’s chaotic heroine returns for another deliriously funny adventure
Rosalie Minnitt’s much anticipated return as Clementine begins at full throttle, with a high energy visual montage of screen images accompanied by a strikingly conflicting collection of messages about feminism, piousness, illiteracy and diary entries. Clementine herself remains blissfully oblivious to the contradictions, considering her 65 sisters, each apparently "sicklier than the last", while conceding that mounting a sequel is "a risky business".
Having embarked on a course of self improvement, Clementine has apparently turned over a new leaf. Her latest obsession is ensuring she wakes up by 3pm to exercise, while she learms from her favourite 'witch'. She has even begun to suspect she has finally uncovered her genius and become a fully actualised woman. The fact her family is destitute despite possessing their last billion does little to trouble her newfound enlightenment.
There is a wonderfully absurd comic rhythm to Minnitt’s characterisation, with the seemingly innocuous becoming increasingly ridiculous. “My sister bain-marie is in hot water” is an early contender for one of the Fringe’s funniest jokes, delivered with Clementine’s trademark mixture of wide eyed innocence and enthusiasm.
Clementine tries her hand at being a governess, discovers that children are creepy and becomes increasingly convinced destiny is calling her, certain that she has purpose and one day everyone will know her name. A miniature revolving prop, symbolising the stage she does not yet have, is a particularly clever visual joke, while the suggestion that she was born with 'boy energy' adds another layer to her delightfully skewed understanding of herself.
Her friendship with best friend Satsuma is reflected upon, as the pair pass their time creating crazy handshakes and conversing with the fairies at the bottom of the garden. Yet Clementine’s ambitions are becoming increasingly difficult to contain. When she decides to head to the Big City, she does so armed with little more than a Polly Pocket trunk and an enormous amount of misplaced confidence.
Minnitt uses original songs effectively to reveal Clementine’s longing for freedom, despite the fact her parents have already bought her a zone one flat. The discovery of a feather convinces her to become a writer, which is particularly ambitious for someone who remains proudly illiterate, while the plentiful impressions of ill-fated young actors from Les Misérables adds another entertaining layer to Clementine’s increasingly chaotic journey towards artistic greatness.
The front row receives a gentle dose of crowd work throughout the show, with Clementine keen to explore her ambitions, rivalries, betrayal and the struggle to understand where one belongs. The final stretch descends into exuberant pandemonium as relationships fracture and rivalries intensify.
Clementine 2 is deliberately chaotic, energetically performed and packed with inventive visual comedy. Minnitt has created a character who is both ridiculous and endearing, while using Clementine’s absurd worldview to explore bigger questions around womanhood, freedom and self discovery. There is more than enough wit, invention and sheer comic commitment here to make Clementine’s second coming well worth the trip.
Rosalie Minnitt: Clementine 2 runs at the Pleasance Courtyard - Beside, until 30 August (not 18) at 15:35. Age: 16+, Duration: 60 minutes.
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