Writer: Shawn Shafner

Director: Shawn Shafner

Reviewer: Charles Tyrer

The Public Reviews Rating:

We are living beyond our means. Forget the financial ‘crisis.’ This is far more severe. To the benefit of our planet ethical consumption is becoming increasingly popular; consumers are seeing things on a broader scale and developing a global conscience. However, our destiny when we run out of fossil fuels is yet to be decided. Can we ensure the survival of the human race?

Karl Greenfield (Shawn Shafner) is the archetypal middle class man. Neoliberalism has captured his imagination; he spends his days thinking of new paradigms to con his fellow consumerists with. Mr Poop (Croft Vaugn) invades Karl’s office; he needs help in rebranding himself and contacting the masses. Ever the conformist Karl is at first weary to help this excrement, yet has little choice when forced through the sewerage systems of the ages. In seeing Roman Sanitation and journeying through to its modern day counterpart it’s not only Karl that learns how fundamental Mr Poop is in sustaining our planet. We soon realise the unimaginable. Poo has the power to change our sociability, economics and most importantly, avert our global crisis.

This is a true Fringe show in that it has a miniscule budget; the piece deals with this well, inviting the audience to use their imagination. Other production elements don’t do the concept justice, and there is room for its development as a theatrical piece. Yet it seems irreverent to a group with such dedication to change the world to harbour this against them too much.

Eat Sh*t stabs its audience with the facts. Using re-usable bags and conforming to the fashionable ethical shopping products just isn’t enough anymore… it never was. We are plummeting towards our own destruction, yet deep within us the answer is stored. It’s time to wake up and smell the shit.

Runs until 27^th of August

Tags: C Nova, C Venues, Eat Sh*t: How Our Waste Can Save the World, EdFringe, Edinburgh Fringe, The Poop Project, World Toilet.org