Groomed

Very moving and disturbing, well written and well performed theatre. My heart raced and broke. I cried. I don't think I was the only one either. A message gotten across well via the power of art and theatre and truthful storytelling with a powerful message for it's audience, the nation and the world!
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Twitter: @IainWorks

We found this a thought provoking piece which took a holistic view to abuse attempting to see things from the eyes of the perpertrator as well as the survivor. We thought it was great that there was a suggestion that there should be a help line / information available for potential paedophiles so they can get help before they commit abuse. Highly recommended.

Groomed (****)
Accompanied by a saxophonist who provides little breaks, a man explores pedophilic grooming initially by taking on the role of a sly primary school teacher. His manipulation of a child’s mother was a wicked reminder how insidious such people can be. The section in which he has his pedophile defends himself by placing the blame on society weakens the power of the play.


This is the 12th most enjoyable of the 122 shows I have seen so far at the Fringe this year. I hope to see almost 200.

Patrick Sandford epitomises survival in this gripping and extremely moving poetic monologue. The physical representations and extended metaphors running through this script are ingenious; and his delivery of them was captivating and enthralling from curtain up.

★★★★☆ Solid Performance

THE GOOD
* Lived Experience. An extremely vulnerable personal tale that pulls no punches.
* Lasting Impact. Spotlighting on trauma's enduring echoes and its ramifications.
* Post-Show Catharsis. An open invitation for dialogue – perhaps the therapeutic moment someone's been waiting for.

ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT
* The Sax's Silent Solo. The significance of the saxophone was clear, but it seemed a bit underutilised.
* Genre Mismatch. Spoken word dominated; not clear if the author's intentional style or inaccurate genre listing.

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I was so impressed by this gentle, talented man and the way he presented his story. The device of the two different sized chairs to represent the small, terrified boy he once was, and his former teacher towering over him was very effective. As was the sometimes discordant sounds of the saxophone, interrupting his flow of dialogue when it might otherwise have become too anguished. To play both roles with such grace takes great strength of character and courage. I was also impressed by what he said at the Q&A afterwards. Very moving. 5*

Moving and emotional, harrowing and difficult at times but very well told. Reading the blurb it was hard to see how a WW2 Japanese soldiers story fitted with his childhood trauma but it does. Very well done.

Powerful, superbly acted with quiet power and grace, across the different ages and troubles of all involved in this story

Extraordinary, profound, gutwrenching -- perfect. I could write an essay on this, but a succinct "you have to see this" should do the trick.

Tour de force solo performance with live saxophone accompaniment and two subsidiary storylines providing necessary relief from a harrowing central tale. Honest and deeply moving attempt to describe abuse from both sides, humanising the perpetrator without at all excusing his behaviour. Excellent script which effortlessly slips into verse at telling moments and insightful use of minimal props. And an unscripted instance of consummate professionalism when a vase got knocked over and smashed: with barely a stutter, the actor adjusted the emphasis of his next line as if the mishap was planned to illustrate it. Not an easy watch but definitely my highlight of 4 shows so far.