by How do you not only survive, but learn how to thrive in the shadow of celebrity?
Michelle Cohn poses that question by putting herself in the frame of mind of Helena Hadid, the seemingly normal but completely fictitious sister to supermodels and daughter to a Real Housewife. Helena has her own ambitions, to be sure. She wants to be a professional writer but finds no luck writing on her own terms, only succeeding when she writes about her famous family members.
“This is ridiculous. It’s a farce!” Cohn says. It’s also a metaphor for adulthood, for capitalism and for finding value when you find yourself comparing and despairing, whether personally or professionally. In those respects, anyone can relate.
And by making Helena a writer, the show gets even more meta. Cohn’s story itself feels like an essay coming to life, written sharply enough to engender knowing nods of recognition and support. It’s smart. It’s clever. And yet, it’s not ridiculous or farcical enough. If anything, it’s too tame. But that’s the trick with satirizing a culture already run roughshod with buffoonery. It can be done without the costume changes or the bells and whistles that other one-handers employ at Fringe, but it also feels like it could benefit from at least some of those amplifications.
Hadid plays Clover Studio at Greenside @ Riddles Court during the 2026 Edinburgh Fringe.
