{"id":360824,"date":"2025-08-21T01:19:15","date_gmt":"2025-08-21T01:19:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/360824\/"},"modified":"2025-08-21T01:19:15","modified_gmt":"2025-08-21T01:19:15","slug":"fringe-2025-the-end-is-near-%e2%ad%90%e2%ad%90%e2%ad%90%e2%ad%90","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/360824\/","title":{"rendered":"Fringe 2025 – The End is Near \u2b50\u2b50\u2b50\u2b50"},"content":{"rendered":"

In Edinburgh it\u2019s 1661: Janet is accused of witchcraft. In London it\u2019s 1911 and Caroline has been arrested for her suffragette activities. It\u2019s 2028 in the USA and Lauren has been detained for having an abortion.<\/p>\n

Melissa Ainsworth\u2019s<\/strong> new play The End is Near<\/strong> looks at society\u2019s centuries\u2019 old determination to control women. As the rights gained through past suffering and protest are increasingly threatened and eroded, Ainsworth\u2019s powerful writing shakes us awake and reminds us that the time to act is now.<\/p>\n

\"\"Lisa McIntyre as Janet, credit Twincity Pictures<\/p>\n

Each woman tells her story; each story is one of betrayal. Janet only wanted a happy life; she has no idea why she\u2019s been locked up. Even though pregnant, Caroline is prepared to suffer to secure votes for women; her husband will come to help her soon \u2013 won\u2019t he? Lauren is terrified and furious, ill and still bleeding. Her wife and child are in the UK; will she ever see them again? Will she die in this place?<\/p>\n

\n

It\u2019s all pro-life until they see a woman dying.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Each woman\u2019s character is well defined and nuanced, Caroline (Ainsworth)<\/strong>\u2019s especially so. Dressed in fur coat and smart hat, she has all the optimism and stoicism of her class, putting a brave face on her situation, singing the suffragettes\u2019 song. As she begins to realise that she is alone, the mask starts to slip; her graphic description of the force-feeding she is made to endure is truly horrific, but almost worse is her touching faith in her husband \u2013 \u2018It is not his fault, I bet he is sick with worry\u2026he has to be careful\u2019 \u00a0\u2013 who is clearly not going to do a single thing to save her. Her laughter becomes increasingly nervous,<\/p>\n

\n

What if we are just screaming into an endless pit?<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Lauren (Chloe Johnson)<\/strong>\u2019s backstory is particularly shocking, because it could happen \u2013 is happening \u2013 today. Traumatised by sexual assault, she travelled from conservative Indiana to a state where abortion was still legal \u2013 only to find that it wasn\u2019t. Her outrage at what men \u2013 individually and collectively \u2013 have done to her contrasts sharply with her tragic, hopeless, longing to see her family,<\/p>\n

In 2022 Roe v Wade was overturned by the US Supreme Court. The fight fought by Gloria Steinem, Betty Freidan and countless other women has been lost.<\/p>\n

\n

They said, \u201cOh that\u2019s not going to happen\u201d; it did.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Deeply regretting former choices, Lauren wonders why people, herself included, didn\u2019t start fighting sooner, as one by one minority groups were attacked. Sound familiar? I think we all felt a little uncomfortable in our seats at this point.<\/p>\n

Janet (Lisa McIntyre)<\/strong> also put her trust in a man, one who not only let her down but joined in her persecution. \u00a0Janet is confused; she looks back on her happy childhood as she sits and wrings her hands in despair,<\/p>\n

\n

I don\u2019t think my family could control me. Maybe that\u2019s why I\u2019m here.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Now she sees other women locked up with her and forced to wear the Scold\u2019s Bridle; she knows her captors will soon be examining her for the \u2018devil\u2019s mark.\u2019<\/p>\n

\"\"Melissa Ainsworth as Caroline, credit Twincity Pictures<\/p>\n

Janet and Caroline look from the past to the future; they have to believe it will be better. When, towards the end of the play, Caroline discovers that women did indeed get the vote seventeen years later (at least in the UK. Swiss women were not emancipated until 1972; Saudi women had to wait until 2017) she is overjoyed, but her words are prophetic, <\/p>\n

\n

When we get the vote, I wonder if some women will vote for their own downfall?<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

And of course all three women end up thinking everything that\u2019s happened to them is their own fault. These men are clever, no?<\/p>\n

Meggie Greivell<\/strong> directs this small cast well. When one woman speaks, the others remain fully aware of their positions, every gesture is controlled and meaningful. \u00a0The use of little moustaches on sticks is a clever way to represent the men behind all this pain; such a small prop, but one that utterly convinces. \u00a0The only slight problem I had was with the sound at the beginning of the show, when the recorded version of Bread and Roses did drown Janet\u2019s voice out a bit, particularly when she turned to face the audience on the other side of the room, but this is always a challenge in theatre in the round.<\/p>\n

The stage design and costumes in Towards the End are excellent. St James\u2019s Church is a straightforward, unadorned venue (but heaps better than some of the rooms in the Old Town.) Stage Manager Sarah Wolf <\/strong>has kept it simple by using just two chairs and one stool, each chosen to fit the characters\u2019 timelines. So Janet sits on a basic wooden stool, Lauren on a standard office chair, and Caroline on an early 20th century version. The real ingenuity lies in what\u2019s seen on the floor around them. Janet\u2019s stool is encircled by a rope; she has heard that witches are hanged before they are burned and her only hope now is that they make sure she\u2019s dead before the light the bonfire. Around Caroline\u2019s chair are blue ribbons and chains; she has chained herself to the railings, but now she is forcibly restrained while liquid is poured down her throat. Lauren is still bleeding; around her are red wool and knitting needles. Before abortion was legalised, those needles were used in backstreet rooms to terminate pregnancies.<\/p>\n

\"\"Chloe Johnson as Lauren, credit Twincity Pictures<\/p>\n

Costumes, impressively designed by Charlotte Bowe<\/strong> and skilfully produced by Erin McEwan,<\/strong> really add to the characters\u2019 separate identities \u2013 again a very useful aid when audiences have to grasp everything about a play in such a short time.<\/p>\n

The music in The End is Near is perfect. The play opens to Patti Smith\u2019s Gloria; women don\u2019t need anyone to die for their sins, they just want control of their own lives,<\/p>\n

\n

\u2026\u2026..my sins, my own
They belong to me, me
People said, \u201cBeware\u201d, but I don\u2019t care
Their words are just rules and regulations to me<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Janet also sings Tam Lin, a Scottish Borders ballad and again very appropriate to the action, but my favourite is Bread and Roses, beautifully sung by Melissa Ainsworth, bringing tears to my eyes at least.<\/p>\n

Above all we hear the loud tick of the clock, further amplified by the women\u2019s chants, \u2018Tick, tick, tick\u2019. Each one of them knows their time is running out \u2013 but then the clock stops. Why? The women meet. How? This is another clever device, and one that still has me thinking.<\/p>\n

I was not quite so convinced by the final scene of The End is Near; I felt the play ended on a little too positive a note. With subject matter as serious and urgent as this, it\u2019s not necessary to tie everything up in a cheerful bow, for, as Janet points out,<\/p>\n

\n

I\u2019m just a scapegoat; this is a witch hunt for eternity.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

And as Lauren so rightly says,<\/p>\n

\n

The years keep going forward but we keep going back.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

We are living in dangerous times.<\/p>\n

The End is Near is a chilling play and a call to action. Melissa Ainsworth well deserves congratulations for her taut, multi-layered writing and excellent acting, but the whole cast and crew deserve them too; there is no weak link in this triumphant performance.<\/p>\n

I would especially like to thank whoever produced the programme handed to us at the door; it is so useful for a reviewer to have all the information in one place \u2013 other shows please take note!<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit Twincity<\/p>\n

The End is Near is by Persistent Theatre Productions.\u00a0 See it at St James\u2019 Church, Leith (Venue 420) at 2pm every day until 22 August. Tickets here<\/a>. And don\u2019t let getting to Leith put you off; you can take the tram from Princes Street to the Foot of the Walk, and there are also many buses from the city centre. <\/p>\n

Please note:<\/strong> The End is Near contains sensitive topics, including sexual assault, violence and distress. Viewer discretion is advised.<\/p>\n

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