Newcomer Jessie Cave gives a promising debut as a neurotic book club leader, says Emma McAlpine.
Newcomer Jessie Cave plays the ultimate geek in her new show Bookworm (clue in the title there). Wearing big spectacles and an oversized Narnia T-Shirt, she invites us into 'Bookworms Utd'; a world of fanaticism, pedantry, cardboard and felt. Rather like the role she played in the Harry Potter films as Ron Weasley’s girlfriend Lavender Brown, Cave’s character in Bookworm is just as fiercely obsessive; turning to books when her tennis career fails and her love is unrequited. In fact she divulges, she was such a fan of the Harry Potter series she pretended to be Emma Watson’s body double just to get onto the set.
Roping in her little sister to help illustrate her life story with shadow puppetry, homemade signs and a song about Steig Larsson, Cave is very much in charge of the agenda, admonishing Bebe if she dares deviate from the script. She champions the lesser-celebrated characters in her favourite childhood stories like Celeste in Babar the Elephant, while imagining their back stories in amusingly tragic detail. Did you know the little known Narnia love story, involving Mrs Beaver (née Simmons) and Aslan?
In Bookworm, Cave has created a strong and adorably nerdy character, and the bossy relationship she has with her sister is one of the highlights of the show. What is lacking is a really funny script. There are some chuckle-worthy lines but none that make you really laugh out loud. Much of the comedy comes from her deadpan or irritated facial expressions; or when she screams the odd word, hinting at an unhinged person underneath the swotty bravado. Still, this is a promising debut and Cave clearly has talent as a comedy actress. With more work on developing her writing skills, she'll be a character comic to watch out for.
Jessie Cave: Bookworm is at the Underbelly in Edinburgh at 2:30pm until 26th August
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