Abbie Lowe
A show about writing or performing your show has become a common plot followed at the Fringe by solo performers in recent years, but I have never seen it done better. With help along the way from a triple G (gaslight, gatekeep, girlboss) producer poking him in the right direction over zoom, Zac’s mission to make theatre about his life and trauma wheels between on-track to completely left field conversations about eels. This delightful one person show is among the most uplifting I’ve seen this year.
Each song and scene is a moment of questioning disabled life, whether it is forcing revealing information to draw in audiences, fighting TFL’s broken lifts, or proving that you’re not the devil for standing up from your wheelchair. It tackles the inaccessibility of life, questions whether people are really entitled to your life story around disability, and why they ask the most insane questions.
Zac is a captivating writer and performer and has you on his side from the second he rolls onto the stage. He is dynamic and expressive, filling the space with ease, and his comedic timing and flair makes it easy to settle in for the journey. Even if it does involve songs about eels reproducing.
The funny and not-so funny songs are written perfectly, with clever lyrics and moments where he really plays on words. Zac’s voice and musical accompaniment, whether it’s a recorded backing track, or live on guitar, are gorgeous. Including a moment of having voices join him in a Greek Chorus of questioning that shine in perfect harmonies, especially as it really digs deeper into the meaning of the piece. The styles varied to keep you on your toes, and it meant the emotion and expression behind each offered different script beats.
I would have happily spent longer with Zac and wished for the show to be extended to the full Fringe hour. With more dialogue scenes between songs, and the chance to stand up to his fierce producer it would have felt further formed and wrapped up perfectly. Some parts could feel clunky in black-out transitions I didn’t feel were necessary, and some songs that didn’t flow perfectly into one another, but just needed a small tweak to make it slick. In the future I would love to see Zac have a bigger stage to play with and the usual musical accompanying tech, as seeing this at a grand scale would blow audiences away.
Lastly, I have to commend Zac for the feat of scoring, writing, producing and performing his own show. When the credits roll at the end of the show it is amazing to see his name pop up time and time again (with a few jokes hidden in there too). I just wish he had taken the bow he deserved instead of leaving the stage!
This show is a joyful and comedic must-see for Fringe goers this year, and I can’t wait to see more from Zac in the future.
Recommended Drink: A comforting but bubbly G&T,
You can catch Zac Zac Zoom: A Story of Wheels and (F)eels at the Space at Surgeons Hall on 19th-24th August at 18:20. Tickets are available now at the EdFringe Box Office.
Jake Mace
