Loosely based on Italo Calvino’s novel If On a Winter’s Night a Traveler, Gregory Nussen’s surreal piece uses non-linear storytelling to examine politics, international relations, gender and queerness.
Trans multidisciplinary artist Nussen has clearly invested a huge amount of time and care in their reflection on Calvino’s work. Named after the book’s ageless narrator, this solo play makes what could be impenetrable very accessible, largely due to Nussen’s exceptional likeability and skilful performance.
With this particular piece it is hard to tell where the allegorical blends with the personal, but each section is incredibly engaging in its own right. From Scandi noir to biting political observation, perspectives are played with and used to keep the audience on their toes. Descriptions of sexual awakenings and plurality of being, of religiosity and the impact of growing up with Zionist rhetoric, are like windows we can see into just briefly before the curtains are again closed.
Nussen has a fabulous speaking voice, warm and characterful, coupled with undeniable charm. They can be forgiven a rather poor Scottish accent at one point – which at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe is a bold move – because it is delivered with a nod and a wink. The opening section, which is very meta, perhaps goes on a little too long before the piece begins to develop, but there is never a moment that is unenjoyable in their company.
Through these fragments of disparate lives, the audience is repeatedly challenged to ask themselves: what is truth? QFWFQ is an intriguing play about the power of stories, and who it is that is telling them.
By Deborah Klayman
QFWFQ plays at Summerhall, Edinburgh until August 31st 2026.