Brighton Fringe.

Obsessed with removing the split Ends from her hair, Claudia will go to any length to remove them. However, this reaction is created by horrific trauma. The audience never knows the perpetrator’s identity and it’s not important either, which removes their power and allows Claudia to take back the life she deserves.

Armed with a small hoover and scissors Claudia retells the horrific relationship that almost destroyed her confidence and life. It’s hard-hitting and at times tear-jerking. However, it’s Fringe Theatre at its best and Stories like these deserve a platform to educate audiences about the damage left behind. There are heart-stopping moments when the scissors look like they could do some serious damage.

The harsh reality behind the trauma left behind from an abusive coercive control relationship often goes unseen and unspoken about. Removing yourself from these dangerous and sometimes deadly situations isn’t the clear-cut end those fortunately enough never to have experienced them believe it to be.

Victims of trauma often obsess over something small to control as they grapple with feelings of helplessness while going through and afterwards from being gaslighted and abused, physically and emotionally. Controlling her split ends is a good example of this.

Learning to feel again afterwards takes time and can rarely be fully restored. Split Ends is not a play for the faint-hearted, it deserves to be seen and understood. Claudia is a beautiful and strong performer and the bravery and courage it takes to expose these situations is far greater than many people will truly understand.

My only criticism is the ending musical number, it doesn’t serve any purpose to the play. For a powerful piece such as Split Ends the final act needs to be abrupt and jarring, for example, lights out as soon as Claudia pulls the plug out. Showing that she has taken back complete control over her life.

For more information about Split Ends please check out the link below.

Four Stars.

https://www.brightonfringe.org/events/split-ends/

Coercive control

Coercive Control

https://www.relationshipsvictoria.org.au/news/what-is-coercive-control/

https://psychcentral.com/health/coercive-control

Company: Claudia Shnier

Genre: Theatre
Duration: 60 mins

In an exploration of control, love and the addiction to people who hurt us, ‘Split Ends’ uses a combination of stand-up comedy, puppetry and multi-media to attempt to understand when we are meticulously in control or incredibly out of it.