Ermentrude at the Underbelly is host this year to the incredible Joe Tracini and his commendable, raw and heartbreakingly hysterical show ‘Ten Things I Hate About Me’.

Joe bounces on to the stage with his infectious energy and cheeky smile informing the audience that this isn’t actually the start of the show. That’s because the 14 times he has previously tried to start the show 5 years ago, he had 14 panic attacks. This leads him nicely on to explaining his extraordinary condition called Borderline Personality Disorder. Tracini spends the hour taking us through the symptoms and traits of BDP using hysterical anecdotes, informative statistics and emotional revelations.

The staging of the show is simplistic but effective using multimedia projected on to a screen to document moments in Joe’s life, such as his love of wearing waistcoats as a child or the fact he was the youngest children’s party magician at the age of 13. We also meet and get to enjoy a couple of songs from Steve… his ukulele. A worthy mention to a beautiful encore involving a clever rope trick too.

The show is simply perfection from start to finish. Tricky to review in a way as it needs to be seen to be understood but I defy anyone to not connect with such an incredibly honest and thought-provoking piece of theatre. Joe is charming, endearing and so wonderfully truthful. He takes you on a journey of his mind and experiences, he lists his faults and therefore symbiotically displays his strengths.

We laughed, we cried and we learnt. Everyone should see this show, it’s important.

Undoubtedly one of the rawest and perfectly delivered performances of the Fringe this year. Phenomenal.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐