Amanda Knox's debut Edinburgh Fringe show, titled 'Cartwheel,' has opened to mixed reviews from critics, with some praising its spirit while others note it strays far from conventional stand-up.
The Guardian awarded the show four stars, praising its 'spirit of defiance.' In contrast, The Times gave it two stars, calling it 'sincere' but 'stilted.' The Daily Telegraph also gave two stars, writing that her performance was 'so very far from great stand-up.' Broadway World gave three stars, describing it not as 'jokes about murder' but as a piece exploring how she might explain the case to her daughter.
'Welcome to the most controversial show at the Fringe.'
Knox opened the show with the line: 'Welcome to the most controversial show at the Fringe.' She has said the show uses comedy to explore trauma and motherhood, and she hopes people will honestly engage with her work and recognize the deep heart and sensitivity she brings as she tells a very personal story.
Knox, a US citizen from Seattle, was convicted and later acquitted of murdering British student Meredith Kercher in Italy in 2007. Kercher, from Surrey, UK, was found dead in the house she shared with Knox in Perugia. Knox's then-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito was also arrested; both were acquitted on appeal in 2011 after almost four years in prison, and Italy's top court overturned the 2014 retrial convictions in 2015. Rudy Guede, whose fingerprints were found at the scene, served 13 years of a 16-year sentence.
Stephanie Kercher, Meredith's sister, told BBC Breakfast she fears the show risks 'normalising and trivializing' violence against women. A petition set up by a friend of Meredith gathered nearly 5,000 signatures before the launch, arguing the show disrespects her memory.
A petition opposing Knox's show gathered nearly 5,000 signatures before its launch.
Critics generally agree the show deviates from traditional stand-up, describing it as more of a personal one-woman piece or storyteller performance.
The show, performed at the Gilded Balloon Teviot, is rated 18+ and is sold out. Knox is 39 years old. The title references a claim that she performed cartwheels in a police station following the death of her roommate.
