Commadie X Comarde X Comedy ✔
This is one of eight new plays selected by Jack Studio Theatre and The Bridge Theatre to be presented at the SE Fest 2026, 1st-12th September.
Penny Topsom and Genie Sutherland’s Diss-Lex-Ians is a genuinely funny and witty new piece of writing about ‘G’ (Lisa D Phillip) or ‘Doragine’ as her mum (Dona Croll) calls her. G is the fast-talking single mother of Rio (Durone Stokes). She has big dreams; she’s enthusiastically told her colleagues at work that she’d written a musical about the hip-hop scene, which is full of tracks from “back in the day” when she danced with the Cookie Crew. Trouble is, she hadn’t yet put pen to paper at all, and when she is asked to present it in two weeks, she says yes. So she enlists the help of her best friend ‘P’ (Emer O’Connor), who questions whether there is enough time to complete such an ambitious project. Not only that, but they are both, as G calls it, ‘neuron’ erm ‘neon’ diverse, to which Rio loudly corrects them, “It’s ‘neuro’ diverse!!”, which had the audience in hysterics, writes Linda Emmanuel.
The set, consisting of a messy living room, represents how G operates in her daily life, such as constantly misplacing her phone or not being able to locate her notebook for her therapy session. She’ll often grab the nearest crumpled envelope on which to make notes. The well-timed sound effects by Max Aspen underscored the visual environment perfectly.
G’s train of thought is often disturbed by ‘Negs’, the name of her negative inner voice; Mum often turns up to make demands on her time and to criticise her lifestyle. Rio, who works from home, is constantly disrupted by G asking him to answer the door, and she in turn rings P at home in the middle of the night to discuss the progress of the musical.
For a script-in-hand presentation, we saw four amazing actors make those scripts disappear as they were brilliantly directed by Carol Russell. The handling of the material highlighted the quality of the writing, the comedy timing, the wonderful wordplay, and the relationships between each of the characters. This play deserves to be supported further.
It is a story about family relations, friendship, ambitions, and mental health. Anyone who happens to be on the neurodivergent spectrum will see aspects of themselves shown and be empathetically recognised.
The SE Fest 2026, supported by the Arts Council, is now three years old and based at the Jack Studio Theatre and The Bridge House Theatre. It is certainly as full of quality new writing as you’d find at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Offering many more opportunities for emerging playwrights and new theatre companies to share their productions. Long may it continue.
