Edfringe 2026: Spin Cycle Review

★★★★★ 5/5

Spin Cycle tells the story of two people in a lesbian relationship who discover that memory plays an important role in their relationship, and that the intertwining of their memories leads them to repeatedly rehearse the past. There is no single conclusion as to whether it is better to live with or without those hurtful memories.

Anyone who has ever been deeply involved in a relationship can relate to the story. Kitt (Zofia Zerphy) and Noel (Rhiannon Bell) meet in a laundry room and instantly share an explosive chemistry. Yet everything seems almost too smooth, as if this is not actually the first time they have met. At the peak of their chemistry, Noel accidentally lets Kitt’s name slip, even though Kitt has never told them what it is. Then comes the twist: it seems that Kitt is experiencing a kind of partial memory loss, which means she cannot connect the person in front of her with who they really are—Kitt’s ex.

Throughout the whole “trying to remember who they are” process, Kitt also begins to remember all the painful memories Noel left her with, memories she had tried to get rid of. It turns out that Kitt can no longer recognise the person in front of her as the person she once fell in love with, both literally and metaphorically. The story shifts from a rom-com into something much more bitter. As we learn about their past arguments, we can feel the poignancy and resentment the two still hold towards each other, while remembering the sweet chemistry we witnessed only ten minutes earlier.

The whole story is full of emotion while also cleverly using the “spin cycle” as a metaphor. Washing away the dirt and becoming clean again seems to be the reason Kitt wanted to lose her memories in the first place. But the colour that has dyed a white shirt cannot easily be washed away. Perhaps the only alternative is to brainwash yourself into believing that pink is your favourite colour—a way of accepting damage that cannot be undone.

The story is full of subtle nuances and makes excellent use of its small setting. Using “doing the laundry” as the context for explaining why two people remain together in the same confined space for 55 minutes—just the length of a Fringe show—is both clever and skilfully constructed.

I would recommend Spin Cycle both to those who have experienced a heartbreaking breakup and to those who are still in happy relationships. Perhaps there is something to learn from it: do not hurt someone you love so carelessly while assuming that they will eventually forget the things you have said.

There are also elements that could have been explored further, particularly the struggles of recent graduates living in the UK, the lack of support for queer young people who are just beginning their careers after being abandoned by their families, and violence within queer relationships. The latter, especially, can feel too heavy or uncomfortable for a cultural climate in which “positive representation” is often expected from queer stories. Yet these are precisely the subjects that deserve further exploration.

Overall, Spin Cycle is a very good Fringe show, grounded in reality and filled with genuine feeling. You can sense that it was written and performed with a great deal of heart.