Review: Marshmallow Me

An entertaining and moving piece of theatre centred around eating disorders

Marshmallow Me, is a new piece of writing exploring the impact of eating disorders. Whilst that might sound like a heavy going piece of theatre, Rosie Pepper’s writing moves between hilarious and moving. It’s written with an authentic voice due to the autobiographical nature of the play, creating a character you really root for.

Ruby grew up in a tight-knit working class community in Scarborough. A place where everyone in the local community would know each other – with a good bit of gossip keeping the day rolling.

Home was a safe place, where summers were spent on the beach, surrounded by friends and family.

Ruby’s move to drama school in London was an exciting adventure at first. It was her dream come true. But the need to work a string of jobs as well as studying on a full time course gradually began to take its toll.

The bustle of London became overwhelming. The cultural divide between affluent middle class families from the south east and up North was real, she says.

The commutes left her with nothing but her own thoughts to mull over. A string of dodgy and expensive house shares saw her gradually become isolated, avoiding going home at night. She ended up alone in a bed sit with dirty net curtains where her mind would race.

As her life became unbearable, it was at this point she developed an eating disorder.

From the start, Rosie Pepper’s performance pulls you in. She has a natural energy that’s infectious. It fills the theatre winning the audience over immediately. She’s 100 per cent a Scarborough lass and chats away at the audience as if we’ve all known each other our entire lives.

It’s a proper laugh out loud performance. She’s a great character actor, slipping into family members, strange house mates and all the other people she meets on her journey. The moment she’s an elderly Irish lady attempting to bash hell out of a mouse with a walking stick is just too funny.

As she flits from acting jobs, auditions, nannying, hospitality work, she’s also trying to get to grips with an eating disorder that threatens to bring her down

The not being bulimic enough to be referred to the appropriate eating disorder clinic is a real thing that those who have supported family members will recognise.

Anyone who has personal experience or has supported someone with conditions such as ARFID (avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder), Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Anxiety, Autism, ADHD or Self Harm, will instantly recognise the patterns of behavior Ruby falls into.

Sensory issues with food aside, there is the desperate need to feel balanced and in control when everything else is overwhelming and out of kilter. Making sure food doesn’t touch inside or out. Eating only in even numbers. Safe Food which changes regularly. It sounds wild when spoken out loud but makes perfect sense to those grappling with ways to control their anxieties.

Ruby still manages to weave funny stories throughout the darker moments, a real skill that makes this a thoroughly entertaining and deeply moving piece of theatre.

The set is simple yet clever. Baby pink soft tiles interlock on stage framing the action in the black box of the Alma Tavern Theatre as well as mimicking costuming. The pop of green to finish it off adds to Ruby’s gentle air of calamity and chaos.

The stage is filled with wheeled suitcases representing the transient nature of London’s challenging rental market. They become a toilet. A bed. But nothing fixed. They keep moving.

Marshmallow Me whilst being an entertaining piece of theatre is also a lifeline to others. The ones out there watching who are secretly dealing with their own anxieties. The people in the auditorium that will feel heard and represented, leaving the show feeling less alone.

The show is supporting SEED – a charity aiming to support those with eating disorders as well as their families.

Cast and Creatives
Written and performed by Rosie Pepper
Directed by Scott Le Crass
Producer – Joe Brown
Lighting Designer – Rachel E Cleary
Sound Designer – Raffaela Pancucci
Stage Management – Meghan Bartual Smyth

For more tour dates, visit: https://www.marshmallowme.co.uk/tour-dates.html

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