EDINBURGH 2019: Review: SUPERSTAR, Underbelly

Nicola Wren is the youngest of five children and has always felt as though she's been in the shadow of her older siblings. So she's written this show to assert her own identity.

Starting her story literally from conception, Wren takes us through her childhood. Conceived against the odds (her family might say 'mistake') she has wanted to be the centre of attention from a young age.

There's a bit where she Wren keeps asking the tech if 'they' are here yet. Four empty seats sit at the front of the stage and after a while, she lets on that she's saving them for her siblings. Since her pantomime debut aged 5, she's always loved to see them sitting in the front row. She eventually accepts that it's unlikely they'll turn up.

Wren's story is a little more unusual than most little sisters. Her brother Chris is Chris Martin of Coldplay fame. When the band hit the big time when she was 11, she started to feel as though people were only interested in her because of who her brother was. She followed in the footsteps of all her siblings and throughout school was compared to all of them by the teachers.

It's a polished show from a confident writer and performer. While Superstarprides itself on being an honest piece of work, it feels almost too slick in places and comes across as a little insincere at times. Overall, it's a good story told well by a performer who is establishing herself on her own merits.

https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/superstar

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