Review: Unseen

Kimberly Prentice has worked for 25 years as a dresser on Broadway. She prides herself on staying unseen, helping the talent into their next outfit, mending any wardrobe malfunctions. She would glide about backstage like a resourceful ninja, toolbelt packed with torch, scissors, bottled water – but was it bringing her closer to her dream of one day being out front, as a dancer? We meet around 30 characters in Prentice’s solo show; wise guy New Yorkers, eccentric divas with fancy French accents, bitchy colleagues, a demanding choreographer who trained with renowned dancer Martha Graham. 

It’s a fun look behind the scenes of the entertainment industry, and the long hours put in by those desperate for a big break. The wardrobe department is knackered, but supports one another with camaraderie and gossip. Prentice stitches her own personal backstory into the fly-on-the-wall theatre plot. The tone is mostly light and entertaining, but we also feel the toll that it takes on her, working in close proximity to the world of showbiz, without ever really feeling visible. Her polished, precision-timed show and plucky, unstarry demeanour gets the crowd quickly onside, and we’re rooting for her as she rides the highs and lows, before landing centre stage in Edinburgh.