Amanda Knox unveiled her debut show at the Edinburgh Fringe festival, drawing attention both for the production itself and the circumstances surrounding it. The performance, titled Cartwheel, arrived amid pre-show controversy when Meredith Kercher’s sister Stephanie publicly expressed concerns about the project before its launch.
Knox, from Seattle, was arrested in Italy at age 21 in connection with the 2007 death of Kercher, her flatmate and a British student. Knox and her then-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito spent approximately four years imprisoned before winning acquittal on appeal in 2011. Though a retrial briefly reinstated convictions in 2014, Italy’s highest court overturned the rulings in 2015. Ivory Coast-born Rudy Guede, whose fingerprints were found at the scene, served 13 years of a 16-year sentence. Knox has since authored two books about her experience and worked as an executive producer on a biographical drama about the case.
Reviews of Cartwheel proved divided. The Guardian awarded four stars, highlighting the show’s defiant spirit, while The Times and The Daily Telegraph each gave two stars. Critics consistently noted that the production functions more as a personal narrative than traditional stand-up comedy, with Knox herself acknowledging she uses the format to explore trauma and motherhood. The Guardian described it as respectful and noted Knox opens by acknowledging the show’s controversial nature. Broadway World awarded three stars but observed the material was not offensive yet “just not very funny,” while multiple outlets suggested the show would benefit from directorial input and criticized its lack of comedic timing.
Kercher’s family maintained their opposition. Her sister expressed concerns the show risks trivializing violence against women, and a petition gathered nearly 5,000 signatures before the show launched. The Cartwheel title references a disputed claim that Knox performed cartwheels in a police station following Kercher’s death. The show runs for 11 days at the Gilded Balloon Teviot venue.
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