Alex Franklin review: Gurl Code is complex, silly and totally original

Edinburgh Fringe

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Edinburgh Fringe 〰️

Image: Rebecca Need-Menear

by Zoe Paskett

Since seeing Alex Franklin’s show Gurl Code I’ve been thinking a lot about the philosophical conundrum of Mary’s Room. 

This thought experiment challenges the argument that everything in the world can be adequately explained using physical descriptions. Mary is a scientist living in an entirely black and white room. She spends her life studying everything there is to know about the colour pink. She knows all the facts about the colour, but she has never seen it. One day, she’s released from the room and sees a pink flower. The question is, does she learn something new once she’s seen the colour for herself? If we say yes, we’re concluding that the world is more than physical descriptions of the things in it.

It’s the perfect question for Alex to pose in her show about how she experiences life as a trans woman. The question doesn’t hold a huge amount of its own physical space in the show but the feeling of it runs under everything.

Gurl Code is an extremely fun and lighthearted show overflowing with joy. Watching Alex perform is like spending time with a friend: she is effortlessly charming and seems to just want to play, whether that's going into minute detail about League of Legends even if she’s only talking to one person, or crafting an elaborately ridiculous version of the Trolley Problem.

She has created a brilliant game through which she demonstrates how ludicrous it is to try to identify who a person is from the outline of their body – which I won’t spoil as the fun is in the surprise. It’s my favourite use of Powerpoint in a comedy show, silly and totally original.

There are so many elements to this extremely complex and thoughtful show – in weaving philosophical theory through creative storytelling, music and games – but what comes across in the end is just how much heart there is. I could tell you everything I have learned about Alex through this hour of comedy, but as I’m tearing up through my laughter at the end, all that matters is the feeling.

Alex Franklin: Gurl Code is at Underbelly Cowgate (Delhi Belly) at 20:35. Tickets here