Brighton Fringe comedy review

This Is How I Got Arrested... After Smuggling Drugs Across The Border But Never Actually Getting Caught With Any Drugs is a long title for a long story. Too long a story to fit in the hour, as it turns out, although not quite hitting the climax despite an increasingly frenetic build-up is baked into this manic piece of storytelling.

Whether this is autobiographical is also moot. Though unashamedly theatrical in presentation, the narrative appears to have the candour of stand-up. Yet Azaelia Slade adopts the name Sophie on stage. Either way, that she convinces us that this story of a working-class girl falling in with the wrong crowd as she seeks identity and freedom is hers is testament to the compelling performance. 

Did all Sophie’s problems stem from the moment the socially awkward nine-year-old her was excluded from school after a clash with the  cool girl she’d hoped to bond with over their Polly Pocket Princess Pumps? Mum’s cruel comment: ‘You’re not pretty enough to be a princess’ is sure to be formative, while Dad, a local art dealer, has no interest in whether she’ll amount to anything as she’s just a girl, unlike her brother Jamie.

Oh, and ‘art’ is code for ‘drugs’, the business Sophie also finds herself in as a young adult in the Greek holiday islands and beyond. She’s also something of an art aficionado herself, greedily devouring industrial quantities of the stuff in a 36-hour bender that – surprise – doesn’t end well.

This is all told at a whirl – racing against the timer she asked one audience member to set. Others are recruited into portraying the myriad characters involved, each represented by a simple but effective sketch on a piece of A4. This adds more chaos to the hyperactive story as cues are missed and lines fumbled.

Other pieces of card represent props, while Slade strips off layer of clothes to reveal the next costumes, part of a physical, energetic performance - sometimes to an irresistible pop soundtrack – that demands attention. The tone is generally fun, in keeping with her party-girl persona, even as the content turns dark. That said, she can spin the mood to the serious – and back again – in a snap

Amid the tumult of the narrative some of the story beats could probably be made more explicit to ensure no-one’s left behind – though that’s possibly an artistic decision to keep the audience as confused as Sophie is. She’s clearly a lost soul seeking belonging among the false friends of the hedonistic European scene. 

But such hiccups do little to detract from Slade’s skills as an actor, portraying chaos with precision – or looseness when required. It is, aptly enough, an arresting performance.

Review date: 4 May 2026
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett
Reviewed at: Brighton The Actors