Fringe review: SO YOUNG, Traverse Theatre
Photo credit: Aly Wright
Two couples spend an evening together but there is tension in the air…someone is missing.
Dominic Maxwell’s new play So Young feels as though you could be peering through a window into a real-life house in Glasgow, or anywhere in the UK for that matter. When Milo invites his best friends, Davie and Liane, round to meet his new girlfriend, 20-year-old Greta, old and new wounds are opened. Davie and Liane have been married for 20 years whereas Milo and Greta met just a month ago; deemed by Liane as Milo’s rebound following the death of his wife, Helen. It feels as though there is a fifth person present at the dinner as the memory of Helen hangs heavy over the evening. What follows is an adept study of grief and the different ways people deal with it.
Directed by Gareth Nicholls, So Young is incredibly naturalistic and nuanced with a wonderfully detailed set designed by Kenny Miller to match. There are three levels consisting of a bedroom, living room and kitchen accompanied by a plethora of props; it is reminiscent of a TV drama, as is the story.
The characters played by the outstanding cast: Lucianne McEvoy, Andy Clark, Nicholas Karimi and Yana Harris, are well-rounded and full of depth. There is a real sense of a shared history as the friends discuss the past, present and future and Milo considers the next steps of his life. McEvoy, who plays Liane, is a highlight as she battles against tendencies for politeness to navigate her grieve for her friend. As the action unfurls during this rollercoaster of an evening, new elements of the story are revealed; the circumstances of Helen’s death open a discussion about the unavoidable impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and how we dealt with loss in a lockdown world.
It may seem as though Maxwell has attempted to tackle too many large topics, but that is the reality of life, and he has managed to capture the nuances of them all. This is a play that will leave you feeling impressed and introspective. So Young is also surprisingly funny with dry and dark humour throughout. The generational divide and the assumptions that come with it are largely the catalyst for the humour. “You know who Fleetwood Mac is!” certainly got a big laugh. Despite this, there were moments when we felt slightly too young for this production as some cultural references were lost on us, but this certainly was not the case for most of the audience. There are also instances where the pacing could be tightened as much of story is told with the actors pairing off and the stage split in two. However, the reconciliation at the end of the play is truly touching and solidifies the message of friendship mattering above all else.
A truly masterful piece of writing from Traverse Theatre, So Young is a wonderful play about love, loss and friendship that is heartwarming and heartbreaking in equal measure.
**** Four stars
Reviewed by: Sophie Luck
So Young plays at Traverse 1 until 25 Aug, with further info here.