Frigid Fringe Dispatch: Book Club Drama and a Very Bad Good Deed
As part of the 2026 Frigid New York Fringe Festival, I went down to the Wild Project in the East Village to see some of this year’s offerings.
The first, Book Club, written by Francesca Bolam, revolves around a classic girls’ night in, with a group of friends convening for wine, cheese, and conversation. With the book quickly forgotten, the women chat in the kind of bouncing, non-linear tangents essential to a night among good friends.
Claire, played by Alice Highman, is the straight-laced lawyer and host, intent on making her Brooklyn apartment clean and cozy for everyone’s arrival. She is strained, quiet, and perhaps a little uptight. First to arrive is Sadie Pillion-Gardner’s Yasmin, a free-spirited and slightly obnoxious nepo baby turned hippie who judges store-bought strawberries and just about everything else. High-powered boss Rachel, played by Skye Themeda Goss, swans in wearing stilettos. Devi, portrayed by Madeleine Doré, begrudgingly works in hospitality and is fun to an irresponsible degree, and Tedecia Wint’s Zoe arrives late, as usual, because she has kids. We get to know each of the women as their night steadily descends into drama.
The dialogue is lively, jumping around the room as different women arrive, reflecting the chaotic nature of a group gathering. Though at times a little too disjointed, it mostly feels realistic. Some of the shifts could be smoother or more justified, and the ending feels abrupt, not in a satisfying way. The audience was left confused when the lighting operator had to awkwardly prompt applause. This could easily be remedied by adding just one final line from one of the women still on stage. It does not feel like the end of a scene, let alone the conclusion of the play. Still, it is a solid 60 minutes with a strong ensemble and clear potential. It could easily expand into a full two-act play dissecting the women’s lives and relationships within one living room.
While Claire remains on the periphery for much of the story, she does get a moment to shine with an affecting monologue toward the end. Doré’s Devi is a standout and my favorite performance of the group, offering a nuanced and natural presence. Her acting feels unforced, with strong vocal control and confident choices. She has a promising future ahead.
For something completely different, I also saw a one-man show by Martin Dockery. Created as a blend of whodunit podcast and stream-of-consciousness storytelling, 1 Small Lie centers on one man’s decision to help an injured deer and the chaotic repercussions that follow. With laughs, gasps, and plenty of “oh no” moments, it delivers a classic good-deed-gone-wrong story that spirals into increasingly wild scenarios.
Martin plays a lanky, middle-aged New Yorker who escapes the city for his aunt’s cottage in Montauk during the COVID-19 pandemic. While adjusting to his new environment, his neighbors, and a week alone without his wife and daughter, he discovers an injured fawn on the side of the road. With no help from local police, which is apparently typical for “The End,” he takes matters into his own hands. What follows is a rollercoaster of emotion and escalating absurdity, including a robbery, a pet grooming salon, and a duffel bag of cash.
The staging is simple, with Martin surrounded by a cluster of table lamps placed around the stage. Each lamp is pre-programmed with colored lights and controlled by his phone, shifting the mood to evoke daybreak, a firepit, a thunderstorm, and a forest. While effective, the visible use of his phone onstage is distracting. Given the constraints of Fringe tech rehearsals, it is understandable, but this responsibility could have been handed off to a technician.
Vocally, Martin seems to be fighting off a cold, unfortunate timing for a live performer, and the lapel mic only picks up part of his dialogue. Still, his storytelling skill comes through. Accompanied by occasional music and sound effects, the narrative flows seamlessly between humor and tension. There are memorable characters, anxiety-inducing reenactments, and plenty of moments that make you wince. It is well constructed, engaging, and clearly holds the audience’s attention. Once again, the ending feels a bit abrupt, but this time only because you want more. It plays like a true crime podcast unfolding in real time, and it is easy to get pulled in.
The Frigid New York Fringe Festival remains one of the best ways to discover new theater in NYC. With more than 50 shows across five venues, and 100 percent of box office proceeds going directly to the artists, it offers something for everyone. The festival runs through April 19.
