A SUDDEN, DISTURBING TO DO LIST
Edinburgh Festival Fringe
★★★★
“wonderfully vivid and authentic”
I really loved this show. Despite the intensity of a stuffy heat which looked upon its singular, opposing fan and spat in contempt, I never for a second felt a drifting sleep; even when the character did. The protagonist, and indeed sole character, of A Sudden, Disturbing To Do List, is Phoebe, played (and written) masterfully by Eleanor May Blackburn. She has OCD, and we follow a flare up inhabited by missed calls, increasing distress and a vague, potentially friendly monster called Fred. All the while, her titular to-do list just continues to grow, and its pressure intensifies.
Emily Browning’s direction imbues every moment with perpetual electricity. A lot of one person plays can, understandably, drift into slightly self-indulgent stasis, with the sole actor pausing in drawn moments of introspection as if their psyche is actualising itself for the audience to see. Here, however, the pace never stops unnecessarily, and each silence feels meaningful and pointed. This is a testament to both the writing and direction, working in tandem to engross you in Phoebe’s intimate, vulnerable, dynamic world. It is, admittedly, exhausting, but in a way that feels intentional; as Phoebe mourns her constant, inexplicable tiredness, we can’t help but viscerally empathise. She is eminently sympathetic as a character regardless of this sensory immersion, because Blackburn’s performance is simply superb. I was in awe of her energy but moreover her control throughout. There are so many beats she has to create; no plot point or character interruption provides structure, it’s entirely held and developed through her performance.
This is sometimes necessary, however, because the script at points lacks a strong narrative through line to maintain emotional concern. The script has plenty of motifs which are expertly weaved through the ebbs and troughs of Phoebe’s blurred experience – the ever-expanding list, the phone calls, the memory song – but these motifs never quite equate into a cohesive structure. Nevertheless, one’s attention is never lost or empathy undermined, and that, I think, is the central takeaway. There are elements underexplored and certain motivations lost amongst the repetition but it never detracts from the wonderfully vivid and authentic characterisation which Browning and Blackburn develop.
A SUDDEN, DISTURBING TO DO LIST
Edinburgh Festival Fringe
Reviewed on 13th August 2025 at Mint Studio at Greenside @ George Street
by Horatio Holloway
Photography by Shay Rowan
