Laura Lexx @ Gilded Balloon

Talking openly about mental health can often be seen as rather taboo but Laura Lexx does well to break down those barriers in her latest Edinburgh Fringe show, Trying.

As she discusses her struggle with chronic depression and anxiety, following a difficult attempt at trying for a baby, Lexx’s observations on her diagnosis, treatment and recovery are clever and insightful. From differing opinions on antidepressants to fish parenting, the show takes you on an emotional rollercoaster and you become engrossed in Lexx’s story.

However, towards the end of the show, her behaviour and delivery becomes increasingly frantic, making her stories harder to follow and, in turn, reducing their impact. This is seemingly intentional, as a way of expressing the pace of the thoughts running through Lexx’s mind, but unfortunately it just doesn't quite work as well as it should.

There is a lot to be learned from Lexx’s show and it ends on a particularly poignant and satisfying note, but her overanimated behaviour sometimes takes away from the point she is attempting to make. Nevertheless, Trying is a powerful show, bravely and passionately delivered, with plenty of laughs throughout.

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Laura Lexx: Trying, Gilded Balloon, Teviot Row House (Turret), 1-26 Aug (not 15), 5.15pm, £6-9.50

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