The Last Drop Review: Dark Domestic Comedy at Edinburgh Fringe

Dante Passarelli's play, "The Last Drop," presented as part of the São Paulo Showcase at Zoo Playground, Edinburgh, offers an atmospheric hour that draws thematic parallels to Shakespeare's Hamlet. The production, running until August 30, delves into pervasive rottenness, mirroring the corruption and decay suggested by the play's title and its Shakespearean inspiration. The play's narrative unfolds within a densely packed city environment, where new construction often signifies underlying corruption. The setting of the apartment block, characterized by peeling wallpaper and a persistent mouldy stain on the ceiling, serves as a microcosm of larger societal decay. The characters, Cynthia (Fernanda Zancopé) and Gilberto (Ernani Sanchez), are depicted in a state of continuous bickering, suggesting a deeply dysfunctional domestic life. The opening tableau initially suggests a murder scene, with Cynthia exhibiting a "death-stare" over Gilberto's prone form on the floor. However, this is quickly revealed to be a misdirection, as Gilberto rises, and their argument resumes, indicating that the "wider crimes" at play are more insidious than a singular act of violence. The couple's suspicion is palpable, particularly their fixation on their upstairs neighbor, whom they hold responsible for their ceiling's mouldy stain due to excessive water usage. This focus on the neighbor's perceived wastefulness highlights the characters' own anxieties and their tendency to externalize blame amidst their own moral and environmental decay. The play's engagement with Hamlet's themes of madness, revenge, and surveillance is woven into this domestic drama, suggesting that the characters are trapped in a cycle of suspicion and recrimination, much like the characters in Shakespeare's tragedy. The Edinburgh Fringe Festival this year features multiple interpretations of Hamlet, including a "Big Brother"-themed version with Lady Macbeth, an Italian two-hander titled "Prince of Sweden," and a critique of the meat industry. "The Last Drop" contributes to this thematic exploration by using Hamlet's opening and closing lines and pursuing similar motifs within its own narrative framework. The play's exploration of a "tragical-comical" existence, as Polonius might describe it, is evident in the darkly humorous portrayal of the couple's deteriorating lives and their obsessive focus on minor domestic grievances as manifestations of larger societal failures. The production at Zoo Playground, Edinburgh, is part of a broader showcase of work from São Paulo, highlighting international artistic contributions to the festival. The play's setting within a city undergoing constant construction further emphasizes themes of progress and decay, and the potential for corruption to be embedded within urban development. The pervasive sense of suspicion and the characters' attempts to assign blame for their misfortunes underscore the play's commentary on human nature and societal breakdown. The title, "The Last Drop," can be interpreted in multiple ways, perhaps referring to the final moments of a relationship, the last vestiges of hope, or the ultimate consequence of unchecked corruption and environmental neglect. The play's atmospheric presentation aims to immerse the audience in this world of decay and suspicion, creating a compelling, albeit dark, theatrical experience.