Hi everyone and welcome back to another review. However this one is a little different! This time I got to head to the capital London to go and see ‘Jellyfish’ at The Omnibus Theatre in Clapham Common!
‘Jellyfish’ written by Jess Coppen-Gardner and directed by Lillith Freeman tells the story of twins Nova (played by Jess Coppen-Gardne) and T (played by Teddy Walker) who are both celebrating their one hundred birthday. Both social media influencers and believe they have found a way to live for eternity. Whilst taking part on a live streamed interview during their celebrations it is discovered that all is not quite as it seems…
As I haven’t been to this theatre before. I wanted to briefly touch on the building and the environment. This is very much a small theatre, with a small auditorium, and a small cafe/bar alongside it. When entering the theatre at the beginning. I had to walk through the outside setting of the cafe/bar. As this was in the high of the UK summer was a little problematic as it was difficult to fully see where the path was. Both during the afternoon but especially at night when leaving. The cafe/bar had some okay lighting in the afternoon with plenty of seats and tables. But unless you wanted to sit on the outer tables of the inside. Once it starts to fill up, getting around or being guided by someone might be a little tricky. I then later discovered there was a main entrance to the theatre that was separate from the cafe/bar. which I found to be easier. After speaking to the box office staff. They offered to reserve me a seat on the front row. Which I thought was a nice touch. But I’m sure if had asked they would have also have happy obliged and done this.
The actual auditorium itself is more of a studio like space, with rows of seats leading up and a front row on the floor. Unfortunately I can’t comment on the leg room of the raised setting as I didn’t experience it. But from other experiences previously, this might be something you want to keep in mind. The lighting as a walked in was on the darker side, so I would be careful when walking up the steps also. But the staff could have not been more helpful, friendly and more than happy to accommodate.
When I read about about this show, and read that it was a dark comedy I’ll be honest I was quite fifty fifty as to whether or not I was going to like this show. But I came out of the auditorium having thoroughly enjoyed it, both Jess and Teddy’s comedic timing was on point and the characters themselves are designed to be comedic also. The characters themselves are influencers but came across massively exaggerated for effect which I loved!
The set itself was very simple, with a white backdrop, two white boxes for chairs, a white wooden table and a plastic flooring for practical reasons. Through the scene changes there where colourful projects of red and blue liquid, with music playing. These had very low lighting but never lasted for longer for a minute. The lighting was simple with a warm white light for most of the scenes. Aside from two karaoke scenes which the lighting is more colourful and flashing briefly for a few minutes. The story was quite easy to follow, there were a few parts of the story that I maybe didn’t get the reference of or didn’t understand, but that didn’t take away at all for this amazing story.
On arrival, I was greeted by the director Lillith Freeman and she showed me to a table with the props from the show, even some slime which was a new one for me. She expertly explain each prop and where about it would appear in the show without giving anything way. This was great as this going in I could then sometimes recognise some of them and think “we’re at this part in the show now” so even though full audio description wasn’t available. It really helped trying to follow the show’s timeline of events. What I found amazing is that the writer Jess Coppen-Gardner had incorporated small elements of Audio Description into parts of the show which was lovely to see! I would love it if more and more shows would do this more.
Overall then, I loved this show and it genuinely surprised me! The story was simple, but enjoyable. Was certainly dark in story but also physical space. But it was beautifully made accessible for people with sight loss! I would love to see a fully Audio Description performance in the future. The Touch Tour was also really good! I would be really nice if the cast and the set and space could be Incorporated into the Touch Tour, maybe if the cast could come out in costume within the actual space of the show to hopefully allow people with Sight Loss to get as a full of an experience as possible! Ultimately this show was amazing, and thoroughly enjoyed my time there. I highly recommend it, and I can’t wait to see what this show, the writer, director, and the production company have coming in the future!
Accessibly Rating:
If you have useful or limited vision: Overall I think, you should be fine, providing you sit on the first two roles. Both actors wear very different costumes to each other, as well as having very distinctive voices from one another, so following the story should be a problem. There are dark moments, but only really during the scene changes. The karaoke scene do have some flashing colourful lighting so might be something to watch out for if that sort of thing bothers you.
If you have little to no vision: I feel the touch tour is must here. As well as the show notes provided that go into much more detail. Physically you aren’t missing anything here in terms of story. There are a couple of loud moments. Only one I can think of. Most of the actual story is dialogue driven, so you won’t miss anything. But if you would like some description throughout the show, do take a companion with you.
‘Jellyfish’ written by Jess Coppen-Gardner, directed by Lillith Freeman and starring Jess Coppen-Gardner and Teddy Waker is running at the Edinburgh Fringe from 5th – 31st August 2026! Go and get your tickets now so you can say ‘I was there at the start…!” All the the information of the show will be linked here. As well as the show notes, will be linked here!
Until Next Time,
The VI Critic.
Trailer:
