“Welcome to the most controversial show at the Edinburgh Fringe,” says Amanda Knox at the top of her debut standup comedy show Cartwheel. Unlike most newcomers, Knox has not been afforded the space or time to hone her hour-long offering in front of a live crowd: the show sold out ahead of its run and has been the subject of much media scrutiny, with news stories questioning whether it’s appropriate for her to be here and a petition hitting 42,000 signatures calling for it to be cancelled.
Before opening night, Knox has already received enough backlash to send the average solo performer reeling from the limelight in terror, but as she steps onto the stage and gives her morbidly curious audience a little wave, the 39-year-old seems unfazed. After all, this is a woman who has spent her entire adult life being judged by strangers. Aged 20, she and her then boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito were wrongfully convicted of the murder of Knox’s flatmate, Meredith Kercher, and imprisoned in Italy following a trial broadcast all over the world.
The media was viciously obsessed, printing an endless stream of headlines defamatory enough to stain her name for life. Despite being acquitted after four years behind bars, the road to exoneration ate up most of Knox’s twenties (and there are many online who still loudly question her innocence).
