Amanda Knox is nearly 40, a mother, and finally allowing herself to be “bloody furious.” In her new show, Cartwheel, Knox navigates the impossible friction of being wrongly imprisoned for a murder she did not commit while half the world demands she “move on” and the other half remains convinced of her guilt.
Her performance is a sophisticated blend of dark comedy and life story, framed through the lens of motherhood. Knox uses the mundane act of clearing up a children’s playroom to anchor the turmoil she has carried since her twenties. The most poignant moments explore the generational tether between mother and child. Knox reflects on her own mother’s experience, having only one hour a week to visit her daughter in an Italian prison and contrasts it with her current life, where her five-year-old daughter is beginning to ask questions about “Mama goes to Italy.”
The show’s title, Cartwheel, stems from a pivotal, misunderstood moment during her interrogation. Knox, a self-described “weird kid” who used yoga to manage stress, performed the splits in a waiting room. The police misinterpreted her flexibility as coldness, famously asking if she could do a cartwheel. Knox reclaims this narrative on stage, performing a cartwheel to symbolise the terrifying leap of throwing oneself forward and somehow landing on one’s feet.
Despite the heavy subject matter, Knox’s delivery is sharp and genuinely funny. While sat up in the balcony, the acoustics in the Gilded Balloon occasionally swallowed the nuances of her facial expressions, however her presence remained commanding. It is a powerful, relatable exploration of the fact that parents are not indispensable. They are people with burdens, histories, and, in Knox’s case, a remarkable capacity to move forward. It made me reflect on my relationship with my own mother, daughter and granddaughter and appreciate how precious life is and that it doesn’t always go to plan.
Cartwheel is a dark, captivating and worthwhile piece of theatre.
For anyone who gets the chance to see Cartwheel beyond Edinburgh, this is one to seek out. Follow Amanda Knox on Instagram for updates.
