This Is How I Got Arrested...| Playground 3 at Zoo Playground (Ed Fringe)

This Is How I Got Arrested... After Smuggling Drugs Across The Border But Never Actually Getting Caught With Any Drugs is an hour long frenzy of storytelling, complete with a countdown that an audience member is politely asked to keep track of. Starting off slow and childish, the story slowly peels away its filters and ramps up to a scorching crescendo, the monologues growing angrier and more desperate till its chilling conclusion.

Creator/Actress Azelia Slade stays in perfect control throughout, bringing the audience into Sophie’s world and balancing the whimsy with the chaos and carnage that takes over the story. This is aided by lots of interaction and fourth wall breaks, every character other than Sophie being portrayed by audience members and sketches on A4 sheets of paper. Putting so much in the audience’s hands puts even more onus on Sophie’s reactions to sell the story, but Azelia pulls it off with tightly practised control despite the chaotic energy of the show.

There’s a lot going on on stage, and just watching Sophie run from side to side or just list through her days is equal parts energetic and exhausting. A couple of vignettes are a little unclear or not fully seen through, but the atmosphere and emotions carry the energy throughout.

Sophie’s life, misfortunes and slow descent into the drug-laden underworld is portrayed unflinchingly, even the rosy-coloured lenses on her childhood unable to fully hide the formative abuses from her family and the influences from her surroundings. Various phases and scene changes are delineated by outfit changes, Azelia stripping off layer after layer to reveal another outfit and a fresh round of trauma. Her ability to flick between pensive and party gives several whiplash moments throughout the show, keeping the audience off-balance and on her side.

This Is How I Got Arrested... is a smartly written story presented as a gripping autobiography, complete with a whirlwind of a host pulling you through the highs and the crash outs. It’s a strong performance and manages to fit a lot in its hour-long runtime: a true celebration of the arts (read: drugs).

This Is How I Got Arrested... plays at 19:40 at Playground 3 at the Zoo Playground until 30th August - tickets and more information can be found here.

★★★★☆ (4*)

Gifted tickets in return for an honest review