The Fetch Wilson: an Irish offering at the Edinburgh Fringe
A darkened stage, bare except for randomly placed mobiles---playing cards both little and large hang delicately from wiry frames. The Fetch Wilson, created by Dublin based theatre company The Corps Ensemble is currently being performed in The Edinburgh Fringe festival until the 27th of August. It is a one man show, told through the eyes of Liam Wilson and performed by Edwin Mullane. Wilson, at first, appears as an unappealing character: professing no real passion for anything and suffering from a severe case of ‘posh boy syndrome’. After his stint in boarding school and university he will progress with a sparkling career in advertising, all laid out ahead of him by his father. However, theatre is less about unfairly judging people than suspending these prejudices and allowing yourself to be taken on a journey.
In this particular journey, the audience follow Wilson’s tale as it dips, meanders and dives into places, milestones and defining moments around his life. These are told, not in chronological order but as the memory recalls, sometimes jumping forward and then leaping back again, occasionally leading you to wonder how relevant they are. Nonetheless, the cosy theatre space and Mullane’s frank delivery addressed directly to the audience creates an atmosphere of complicity and excitement. We want to know what happens next, regardless.
The crux of the play and the defining moment for Wilson is his discovery of cards, specifically poker, one summer in Budapest before entering final year in Trinity college. His taste for cards and the subsequent adventures involved in realising and nurturing his talent involve progressively higher and higher stakes, continuing to lead him into darker and darker corners. The ‘mediocrity’ which once seemed to surround Wilson’s character and personage no longer define him. He has bigger fish to fry or cards to fold, culminating in one final dark and unexpected twist in the tale. Aside from the central plot of Wilson and his deck of cards, this piece manages to hint at related themes such as identity, mental health and the enduring ‘Rugby club mentality’ lingering steadfastly within parts of Irish society, where class and money sometimes play a larger role than we care to admit.
Writer: Stewart Roche
Director: Jed Murray
Cast: Edwin Mullane
Producer: Hillary Dziminski
