An unspoken rule of the Fringe is that the shows with the silliest premises are often the most complex and interesting. The Subplot: A Hyperfixation on the Titan Submersible follows this trend, as a story about one woman’s all encompassing obsession with the 2023 OceanGate disaster.
The Subplot transforms the Women’s Locker Room in Summerhall into its own underwater submersible. The chairs face each other, blue lighting fills the space, and thematic songs like Surfin’ USA and Octopus Garden play before the show. Sarah Smyth, our captain, welcomes us to our pre-dive briefing as we prepare for our own deep dive into the lore of the Titan.
Smyth takes us through the details of the OceanGate disaster, starting with the initial reports of the submersible going missing, details of the passengers, the memes in the subsequent days, and then the shock as it was confirmed that the Titan had imploded, killing everyone on board. Then came the scandal, the investigation and multiple documentaries. Smyth is autistic and the Titan has been her neurodivergent hyperfixation since the disaster happened over three years ago. She’s buzzing to share it with us, alongside insights into her own mind and life during this time as the obsession takes over, causing her to forgo commitments to friends and familial niceties in her relentless pursuit for… what?
Smyth makes engaging and quirky company for the hour. She is naturally witty and The Subplot is also full of jokes and silly asides. Not every joke lands, but those that do are genuinely laugh out loud funny.
As the show progresses, it becomes clear that The Subplot is much more than a particularly well done PowerPoint. As Smyth recreates the Titan’s descent, with a projection of a porthole and the chilling snapping noise of the sub’s carbon fibre material breaking, she reflects on the humanity of those in the sub that day, not defending some of their other activities but merely considering them, and herself, as people. The conclusion she comes to is one of the most genuinely conventional and introspective of the Fringe.
The Subplot is a genuinely intelligent and original show that will make you question how we judge others’ behaviour in comparison with our own. Highly enjoyable and entertaining.
Listings and ticket information can be found here
