one4review | On 10, Aug 2024

Michaela Burger brings the extraordinary tale of Grace Bellavue, Australian sex worker and activist, to Edinburgh. Far from being forced into the profession, Grace actively chose to be a sex worker, to the initial horror of her parents. She was fiercely intelligent, but was also an incredibly bored teenager, intrigued by sex. With barely a backward glance, she headed to a brothel to begin a very successful career and she loved it. Her fame and notoriety grew as she actively engaged with social media, and she used that fame to campaign for the decriminalisation of sex workers. The toll of her chosen life did wreak havoc on her mental health and led to a tragic early death, but she left an amazing legacy of unpublished written material, which has been crafted into this superb piece of theatre.

Michaela’s portrayal of Grace combines the brash, confident media darling with the woman struggling to cope. By a quick change of costume, she skilfully adopts another facet of Grace’s persona and also provides her own musical soundtrack to the action, which is beautiful and poignant. This play is a wonderful testament to an amazing one-off, and it is to be hoped that one day, Grace’s campaigns will come to fruition.

****1/2
Reviewed by Rona
19.05 (65 mins)

Assembly Rooms Drawing Room

Until 24th August (not 13th or 20th)