Douglas Maxwell’s new comedy-drama, So Young is so brilliant that I have only so much to say. The premise is plucked straight from the sitcom playbook: what happens when one 40-something widower introduces his new 20-year-old girlfriend to his closest buddies?
Laugh-out-loud hilarity is what happens. Raw, emotional drama is what happens.
The text is sparkling with sharp observations, and everyday absurdity. No one’s entirely wrong, and no one’s entirely right. The performances are terrific, each actor wearing their parts as if custom-made.
The opening scene, in Davie’s (Andy Clark) and Liane’s (Lucianne McEvoy) bedroom, ushers us into familiar comedy territory. Cheeky musings on diminishing durations and the inappropriate gifts of Irish relatives give Clark and McEvoy plenty to work with.
“Laugh-out-loud hilarity is what happens. Raw, emotional drama is what happens.”
When the action shifts to their old buddy Milo’s (Nicholas Karimi) place, things quickly begin to spiral. Liane expected Milo to be grieving over the death of his wife, and her best friend, not twitterpated with love’s very young dream. Davie just wants to browse his old buddy’s record collection and reminisce. Milo wants acceptance, and Greta (Yana Harris) just wants him to be happy.
The friction between these expectations lights a fire that threatens everyone’s relationship with everyone else. McEvoy is magnetic as the wounded guardian of her friend’s memory. She doesn’t want to play the bitchy older woman, but can’t see any way out. Yana’s open-hearted, almost guileless youth wants to connect but lacks the life experience to measure the hurt her adversary feels. They simply do not speak the same language.
Karimi’s Milo is the play’s straight man, a subject of everyone’s judgement who cannot please everyone. The audience will interpret his choices only three months after his wife has died, as they will. Maybe he is in denial, maybe this is a catastrophic rebound, and maybe it will work out. It falls to Clark to play the jester, a talented man with deep insecurities who wraps himself in bonhomie.
Maxwell orchestrates their eventful evening together with true finesse. So Young is tremendously funny, but not silly. This is comedy on the flip-side of tragedy. Confidential chat is weaponised, unspoken opinions brought to light, whilst judgements are cast out left, right and centre. Then Davie brings up lions…
Throughout, the audience regularly struggles to know whether it’s allowed to clap, it’s that good. The Gasps are meteorological, and you’ll even get the occasional cheer in between all the laughing.
The ending, when it comes, is just right. Friendship, Maxwell understands, is a continual negotiation. It doesn’t survive because people hold all the same opinions, or because they make similar life choices. Love doesn’t always find a way, but it can.
Ultimately, if you want 80 minutes of sensational comedy wrapped in a relatable night of interpersonal trauma, So Young is for you.
‘So Young’ is a Traverse Theatre in co-production with Raw Material and Citizens Theatre
Show Details
Venue: Traverse Theatre – Traverse 1
Dates: Aug 2-4, 6-11, 13-18, 20-25
Showtimes: Times vary. Click ‘Dates, times and prices’ to view the calendar
Running Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Age Recommendation: 16+
Price: From £17.5 (concessions available)
Accessibility
The performance space, ‘Traverse 1’, is wheelchair accessible.
The venue, ‘Traverse Theatre’, has provided the following accessibility information: ‘Two wheelchairs available to borrow at the Traverse. Full venue site is accessible, Wheelchair accessible toilet, No reserved accessible parking, On street blue badge parking, Assistance dogs welcome in all areas’.
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