I love Facebook. Originally made for Harvard University students and now a ‘Global Phenomenon’ with over 100 million users logging on each day, it surely is a hot topic for any Fringe show.
In saying that, a number of stand-ups have referenced it this year, along with Twitter, as being somewhat of a revolution and a way to branch out to newer and more diverse audiences.
Facebook Fables, like many shows at the Edinburgh Fringe, is a World Premiere. It sounds so exciting doesn’t it? World Premiere. Granted, sometimes it is, and other times . . . not so much.
REM's "Shiny Happy People" fills the room as Facebook Users 1, 2 and 3 update their statuses and sing a cheery song about being poked, hugged and slapped with a fish to the tune of ‘Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes.’
Then it all turns a bit odd. What is described as being a ‘fast paced comic conundrum’ takes a dark turn as we are faced with three characters: Isabelle (The sad dumped girl with the good job), Keeley (the common Essex girl with nice boobs) and Fiona (the geek that nobody really likes).
After Isabelle is dumped, she makes up a Facebook page in the name of her apparently cheating ex and precedes to destroy the lives of the other two girls. The three females try with the material they have, flitting from a number of roles but the laughs are few and far between.
By the end of it, you find yourself sitting in a morality play with a conclusion that is far too dramatic and a moral of the story that we all know already.
It just seemed like Facebook Fables started off as that small diamond of potential greatness and manages to just fail through a number of clichés and bad writing choices. You’d be better just to stay at home, and play on the real Facebook.
Times: August 9 - 31 (Not 15)
Tickets: £10 (£8) or £9 (£7)