CRINGE

OR (#NO BETA WE DIE LIKE MEN)

Fishmarket Theatre Co. @ 59E59 and the 2024 Edinburgh Fringe

It begins with a show. The Show. The star-hopping, utopian, science-fiction show that seized American hearts one television set at a time. In 1969, a group of housewives write forbidden love stories in suburban kitchens. In a Y2K bedroom, two teens fall through an internet wormhole into a 50-year-old, homoerotic TV series.

CRINGE follows the creation of fanfiction as we know it–an unauthorized celebration of intergenerational fandom, liberative queer space, and collaborative fantasy, with a dose of camp and an even larger dose of… well. Cringe.

Irreverent and heartfelt, it’s a story about coming of age in digital space. Emerging from its guilty-pleasure delineation, fanfiction takes center stage in CRINGE as a radical tool for community creation and exploration of queer identity, desire, and reimagined futures.

Featuring Tom Robertshaw, Jasper Peter Pershing, Alice Zelenko, Melia Hagino, Michelle Kariuki, Zoe Fonck, Stella Oh, and Francie Brewster.

By The Three Sardines

Director, Costume Designer Nadiya Atkinson

Production Manager Katherine Mostek

Lighting, Scenic Designer Raven Zhan

Sound Designer, Composer Jake Eisner

STARBURST Magazine

"Decidedly queer and very much about the female gaze, the script is crammed with little references to the broader world of fandom. CRINGE is a love letter to worlds of fannish joy, a superbly realised celebration of the love of geeky things and fannish lore. Fabulous. Hilarious. Filled with (slightly awkward) love."

☆☆☆☆☆

UK Theatre Web

"Pure homo-erotic, gender sensitive fun."

☆☆☆☆☆

BRIG Newspaper

"Cringe is incredibly well done [...] There’s a lot of heart and warmth, and some serious conversations happening beneath the veil of stories about two time travelling scientists dancing around their feelings. And the last line is an absolute killer."

☆☆☆☆

The Scotsman

"Written by the Three Sardines, the playwriting wing of young New York company of artists, clowns and theatremakers Fishmarket Theatre Co, Cringe manages to nicely balance a study of female fandom and sexual feeling, both viewed so differently in the half-century since Fantastical Adventures Reach Through Time’s real-life inspiration Star Trek first aired, with some very funny character work and interaction, particularly in the Captain and Mr Professor’s innocent but innuendo-riddled dialogue."