A cozy, queer little play that shivers happily away in the middle of the bustling summer Fringe.
It’s not every day you see people donning heavy snowcoats in the middle of summer. But the cast of Supermarket 86 makes it look believable, enjoyable, and delightfully gay as they take the stage by (snow) storm.
When a nasty blizzard strikes Ithaca, New York, five women in their twenties find themselves trapped in the aisles of a local supermarket. The power goes out. The roads are impassable by foot or car. In this small town, of course, it’s not surprising that some of the women just happen to know each other. But not to the nearly absurd extent that this lot does.
Over the course of this natural-disaster-imposed sleepover, these five lonely women connect and reconnect over what first seems to be a simple game of Truth or Dare. Conveniently, each of them opts to tell a truth, carrying the group through poignant moments of reflection as they wait out the storm. As the ice thaws and these once-strangers become unpredictable friends, each of them have a turn at picking apart their fears and desires, the unhelpful stories they tell themselves and the dreams they’ve scratched away under the isolating scars of their post-high school years.
Despite a storyline that rings too easily of Gilmore Girls quaintness and predictability, certain elements of the show brightly showcase the special talent at the core of this group of fellow NYU Tisch alumni.
Particularly noteworthy is the precision in casting. Each of the actors brings a finely honed personality to each of their roles. Even as their game of Truth or Dare wears on, and the women unearth more common ground (in one case, that common ground being a dorm room bed in which they slept together), each ticks away with their own internal atmosphere and drive without disrupting the overarching momentum of the piece.
Such nuanced performances by an all-star international cast create an effortless (and rare) ensemble feel to Supermarket 86 that carries it through to its feel-good conclusion. If anything, the next time the power goes out, and I find myself stuck with a bunch of strangers, I know which game I’m suggesting we play.
SUPERMARKET 86 is on at the Edinburgh Fringe from the 4th to the 23rd of August at the Stephenson Theatre @ SpaceUK. Buy your tickets here: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/supermarket-86