Vivienne Acheampong (The Curious Incident of the Dog In The Night-time) draws on her past experience of being a primary school teacher in this one woman comedy sketch show which is playing at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival this year.
As the audience enters the room we are welcomed in to Twiddlesworth Primary School by our teacher Miss Marshall who gives us a sticker and lets us know what year we are in. I was a year two student. Once all the students are seated we are taken on a hilarious whirlwind hour of comedy sketch routines where Vivienne moves from chair to chair on the stage switching from character to character. The politically dubious dinner lady (sorry, ‘lunchtime supervisor’) Sheila, ‘challenging boy’ Ty’Quan, the officious Deputy Head and chronically overworked teacher Miss Marshall.
During the lesson students (the audience) partake in a music lesson, learning to play the recorders that are under our chairs. But god forbid anyone who plays out of time or makes any noises when they shouldn’t be during the lesson. Miss Marshall runs a tight ship and won’t settle for any nonsense.
Rainbow Class is one of the best things I saw at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Vivienne Acheampong is brilliant as all the characters and the accents were all so convincing I am still trying to work out which was her real voice. The writing is outstanding and the hour flies by and left me wanting to go back to Twiddlesworth school the next day.
If you only see one show at this years Edinburgh Fringe Festival, make it Rainbow Class at the Assembly Hall (until 28 August).
Reviewed by West End Wilma (Year 2)
