Edinburgh Fringe 2022: 5 star review for Eva O’Connor’s MUSTARD

Written and performed by Eva O’Connor and directed by Hildegard Ryan, Mustard returned this year to the Edinburgh stage after its debut 2019 to a brilliant reception.

The Skinny wrote:

‘Mustard is a stunning piece of performance art about heartbreak and mental health.

O’Connor’s powerful exploration of one woman’s struggle to grapple with her mental health has a universally raw edge in a post-lockdown age. Though it is ostensibly a play about heartbreak, Mustard is a poignant reminder of the crutches we cling to when the world is spinning out of control………

Creative yet simple staging by director Hildegard Ryan allows Mustard to tread a defly-balanced line between monologue and playful performance art. O’Connor’s writing is as emotionally insightful as it is well-paced, peppered with caustic wit……..and an almost poetic lyricism that will feel familiar to fans of her previous plays, including Maz and Bricks and My Name is Saoirse.

…….Mustard remains a Fringe Festival must-see. It is both a triumphant tour de force and a timely reminder of the ways we can thread our lives back together in the wake of even the most searing sadness: one tentative stitch (and triumphant pedal) at a time.’

In 2019, Mustard won both a Scotsman Fringe First and a Lustrum Award.

Mustard will be at the Fringe until the 28th August at Summerhall. Tickets are available on the Edinburgh Fringe website!

Eva O’Connor and Hildegard Ryan are represented by Frances Arnold.