Kirsten from Islington Now speaks to Emma Zadow, writer and star of the new theatre production Fridge.
Centring a play around an ordinary kitchen fridge may seem bizarre, but for writer and actor Emma Zadow the fridge was the first image that came to her when she began writing her play. After “lots of Blue tack, lots of Sellotape, lots of Post-It notes and lots of swearing”, seven years since its completion Fridge is currently being performed at The Hope Theatre on Upper Street in Islington. This week marks the beginning of its preview performances.
Speaking about how it feels to see her work finally come to life, Zadow explained, “it’s surreal. I wrote it thinking that no one was going to put it on or read it, so it is quite a special feeling.” After seven years she feels deep levels of nostalgia when she hears certain parts of the play “I was writing it at the kitchen table with the oven on to keep warm, so it has come a long way.”
Set in Norfolk, Fridge tells the story of Lo (Gabrielle De Saumarez), a girl in her late teens struggling with her mental health who in her lowest moments seeks safety inside the fridge. After Lo attempts to take her own life, her sister Alice (Emma Zadow) returns home after seven years living in London and with the help of family friend Charlie (Edward Watchman), they attempt to rekindle a broken family relationship that constantly tests emotions.
“Mental health is not a straightforward battle,” explains De Saumarez, “While the play is hopeful it definitely conveys the message that this is a journey that you go on that has no real start or end and it’s cyclical in a certain way.”
This is reflected in the play. There is no concrete reason as to why Lo is depressed, a word Alice finds challenging to say aloud, and there is no quick fix for Lo’s state of mind. The play is not about solutions, it is about the journey to get there and how it is ok and natural to not always get it right. The characters fight and offend each other but a deep-rooted love holds them together. Edward “wants the audience to leave knowing that they are loved by people who care about them. You are loved even if you can’t see it.”
The performance by Gabrielle De Saumarez, whose previous work includes the short film I Bit the Lemon, is outstanding. Speaking to her on Zoom on Monday she is articulate and excited, but on stage she is transformed into a sad, angry and frustrated childish young girl, refusing to drink anything but Frijj banana milkshakes, acting out the Little Mermaid and periodically seeking refuge in the fridge. Her age is never confirmed, but the character is infantilised throughout. She wears an Alice in Wonderland jumper and flips between watching Disney films with childish glee (the film presented on a hologram illuminating the stage) and bitterly snapping at her sister who speaks to her with a maternal authority, mockingly calling her “Mummy.”
Lo is incredibly vulnerable. Specific diagnosis is never mentioned yet she is on medication and refers to hearing voices. The play explores the feelings of resentment and anger she projects towards her sister who managed to ‘get out’ of Norfolk, leaving her behind. But this anger is combined with how she feels about herself. She refers to herself as “pathetic”. Whilst vulnerable, Lo refuses to allow herself the tender soothing care she needs, and instead lashes out, looking to blame others for her unhappiness.
Situated above the Hope and Anchor pub the venue space is intimate, intensifying the relationship between the three actors. The audience is quite literally in their kitchen. Aside from mental health, the play is about reconnecting with family. “I want the audience to just relate themselves to the play and the found family aspect. Whatever your family unit is, whether blood or not, you are always going to go through arguments and rough patches, but at the end of the day you love each other you know? And I think that’s what a lot of people have been going through in lockdown,” explains Zadow.
Zadow wrote the play when she was 22 years old, long before the Covid-19 pandemic, however lots of the themes are now incredibly timely. “It’s about isolation, rural identity and sisters and that isolating feeling you can get from rural existence.”
Originally from Norfolk herself, Zadow was was inspired by the folklore on the Norfolk coast and the sea tales and the salt marshes. “I hadn’t really seen any rural plays about Norfolk and working-class families performed on stage before, so I had never seen my lifestyle or environment portrayed on a pub’s theatre stage.”
She has also experienced her own mental health struggles, “but it isn’t a carbon copy of my experience. It is a catalysation of certain events, but it isn’t exactly what happened.”
Lo’s monologue describing an episode of self-harm in the bath is particularly moving. Silky shea bubble bath mixes with her blood to form swirls like raspberry ripple, a sickly sweet chilling image. It was difficult to listen to, but that’s the point. “It’s such a meaty and poetic show. I think this is the most excited I have personally been to put something on,” comments De Saumarez.
This poetic language is laced seamlessly into the plot and is often accompanied with light and sound-scaping effects, bringing to life the Norfolk sea coast.
As the lights come on and the bows commence, there is a release after such an intense atmosphere. Fridge is moving, heart-breaking and almost frustrating. In a society where we restlessly search for solutions, Emma Zadow has created a play that provides none and instead focuses on human relationships and their ongoing complexities.
Fridge is on until 2 April. Click here to book tickets.
