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Amanda Knox’s One‑Woman Show Opens at Edinburgh Fringe Despite Family Backlash

The sell‑out run has drawn thousands of petition signatures and public condemnation from Meredith Kercher’s sister, raising questions about festival open‑access and the limits of personal comedy.

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SEATTLE, WA - OCTOBER 4: Amanda Knox (R) is comforted by her father Curtis Knox (L) and mother Edda Mellas (C) before speaking to the media on October 4, 2011 in Seattle, Washington. American student Amanda Knox arrived back in her hometown of Seattle, WA from Rome, Italy after she and ex-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito won the appeal against the conviction in 2009 of killing their British roommate Meredith Kercher in Perugia, Italy in 2007. The pair had served nearly four years in jail after initially being sentenced to 26 and 25 years respectively. (Photo by Stephen Brashear/Getty Images)

Overview

  • The show Cartwheel debuted Friday at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and is scheduled for an 11‑night run at the Gilded Balloon Teviot with multiple performances listed as sold out.
  • A Change.org petition started by a friend of the Kercher family has grown to nearly 10,000 signatures calling for the show’s cancellation on the grounds that it trivialises Meredith Kercher’s rape and murder.
  • Meredith Kercher’s sister, Stephanie Kercher, publicly urged Knox to cancel the comedy show and said the performance normalises violence against women and reopens familial pain.
  • Knox and her representatives say Cartwheel is an autobiographical piece about motherhood and wrongful imprisonment that honours Kercher’s memory, and Knox posted that the petition mischaracterises the work.
  • Festival organisers and the venue have defended hosting Cartwheel under the Fringe’s open‑access rules, while early audience reports describe mixed reactions and critics warn the case could set a precedent for platforming art tied to specific crimes.