Two anthropomorphised cats, Jeffabelle and Iris, express feline traits—grooming, zoomies, neediness—to reveal their owners' demanding behaviours. Overanxious Shira keeps Iris as an indoor cat while vain Arlan trains Jeffabelle for TikTok, creating comedic tension and affection. Performances by Danny Gordon Boyd and Phoebe Nichols use tactile body language to convey languor, superiority and playfulness. An escape leads to a night on the town and an awkward morning-after scene. The script examines loneliness, liberty, early-adulthood life and how companion animals encourage self-kindness. Comic timing and awkward relational moments land well, though momentum wanes, some jokes could be sharper and the ending feels unfinished.
But the joke is that these are the traits of two demanding pet owners: overanxious Shira, who has confined Iris to life as a house cat, and the vain Arlan, who makes Jeffabelle do tricks for TikTok. Produced by Leeds University's Aireborne Theatre, and directed by Amit, it's full of promise and proof that student performance increasingly priced out of the fringe is vital to the Edinburgh festival ecology.
These cats don't purr or miaow but talk through their emotions: Jeffabelle is fed up with having to jump at cucumbers and Iris has exacting standards about how she is stroked. But Danny Gordon Boyd and Phoebe Nichols, respectively, have a tactile body language that captures feline languor, superiority and playfulness. When Iris escapes through a window, Jeffabelle takes her for a night on the town to get in touch with her wild side
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