The quick-witted Daniel Wye returns to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe with Séayoncé: She Must Be Hung! The comedic star offers a fast-paced slice of occult camp comedy, blending cabaret, masterful wordplay, and playful audience interaction for a truly enjoyable night.
Spiritual medium Séayoncé is accused of witchcraft and is to be tried by an audience of blood-craving townspeople. In this elaborate court case, Séayoncé calls upon a variety of character witnesses, both living and dead, to save her soul from eternal damnation.
A rain-battered Piccolo stage in Assembly George Square Gardens makes for an atmospheric setting for Wye’s final Séayoncé performance of this year’s Fringe. A hooded, chanting figure chaotically drops handwritten notes around the theatre with audience participation instructions, while members of the audience are pulled from their seats to indulge in Gregorian-style chants. It is all a little manic, but it quickly establishes the fluidity between audience and stage throughout She Must Be Hung! as audience members are plucked from their seats to fill many of the roles in Séayoncé’s story—cue much staring at feet to avoid Séayoncé’s steely gaze.
Wye is a responsive presence—audience members struggling to keep up with the improvisational elements required of them are thrown back into the crowd—while Wye builds on the awkwardness throughout with playful, cheeky callbacks. The abundance of audience interaction has mixed impact—this reviewer would be inclined to say there is too much—Wye’s comic sharpness is strong enough to carry She Must Be Hung! without needing as many audience participants. Wye’s musical accompaniment and comedic companion, Robyn Herfellow, whose character Leslie provides intense, darkly amusing support.
Wye’s razor-sharp writing is the star of the show, with the comic talent packing the production with countless wickedly witty and magnificently crude lines throughout. The quiet impact of many of these gags unfolds slowly as Wye nonchalantly delivers them with a gleefulness —a line about ‘Making my whole week’ (‘hole weak’) still delights with a mischievous crudeness. Wye also showcases incredible skill in characterisation, seamlessly flipping between a plethora of summoned spirits, each with their own unique physicality and comic style.
Wye packs their writing with social consciousness—using the Witch Trial angle as an allegory for society turning on the vulnerable as scapegoats—a rousing call for us to stand up and beat oppressors at their own game.
Daniel Wye’s Séayoncé: She Must Be Hung! is a sharp blend of occult comedy and social commentary, packed with wit, mostly-successful audience interaction, and strong character work. Wye’s quick-witted performance and clever writing make for an amusingly chaotic yet thought-provoking Fringe experience.