A actor/writer is showing her new comedy at the Edinburgh Fringe this month to highlight how she lives with chronic fatigue.
Ella Evans, 34, of Brentor, has written and is performing Femme Fatigue, a one-woman show, which runs from Wednesday August 14, to Sunday August 25, at Potterrow Port Underpass.
Ella, a Channel 4-mentored new writer, was diagnosed with chronic fatigue when she was at university and describes the show as an outrageous comedy full of bawdy humour. She bases the storyline on her experiences of struggling with chronic fatigue and uses many Devonian rural characters to show how people like her have to battle against misconceptions.
Ella said: “I’m using comedy drama to tell a surreal story of hope in the face of despair. Femme fatigue is a wildly funny tribute to illness, recovery and queer love.”
The show previewed at Exeter’s Phoenix Theatre to a full house and good audience reception: “The humour went down very well to people of all ages. In the era of long covid and chronic fatigue, this off-beat show is an absurd tale of profound tiredness. It features the rebellious Sascha falling ill and returning home to recover.”
Ella added: “I’m showing people who know someone with these issues that it is a physical condition and not a psychological disorder or people just being lazy. I salute anyone fighting extreme tiredness. Luckily I’ve had sustained energy to create and perform my show. I can’t thank my parents Angle and John enough for their support.”