Buen Camino

I’ve been planning to walk the Camino de Santiago for a while now. The Camino, stretching from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port on the French side of the Pyrenees to Santiago de Compostella in north-west Spain, is basically a religious West Highland Way, only 400 miles longer, and without the midges or heavy drinking. I’ve been saving pesetas in an old jam jar like they’re going out of fashion, and I’ve learned myself a bit of the lingo, a few key phrases anyway eg ¿Tienes un menú en inglés con fotos de las hamburguesas? I’m set. All I need now is a nervous breakdown to kickstart the adventure.

American writer Susan Edsall tragically lost her long term partner Jim when she was living in France. One evening they were FaceTiming, next morning he was gone. She returned to their home in Hawaii and spent 15 months lost to herself in grief. If her one woman play, Buen Camino is to be believed - I’ve no reason to doubt her - The Voice spoke to her while she was in a grocery store telling her to walk the Camino de Santiago. And that’s what she did, turning off the road of self-destruction onto the road of self-discovery.

And for me, that’s where I began to lose interest. She was accompanied on the pilgrimage by the Spirits of Love, Beauty and Grace as well as a sprite, Morticia, constantly tempting her out of her misery through suicide. All four parts are played by Edsall, although at times it’s difficult to know who is meant to be speaking. Love, Beauty and Grace win out in the end but not before some tedious reviewing of Edsall’s life choices to date. It would have been nice to have some more material - other than weather reports - about the actual Camino.

I wasn’t the only one in the audience who felt a wee bit cheated. The bloke next me fell asleep after about 20 minutes although that might have been because this was his 16th Fringe show in 3 days, or because he had actually walked the Camino de Santiago. Or maybe he was just tired from talking to me before the show started. That happens.

Fair play to Susan Edsall though. She’s walked 540 miles, written a memoir and taken it to the stage. That takes guts.