Douglas Maxwell is one of Scotland’s most prolific and accomplished playwrights. In fact, when asking around two weeks before the fringe what people suggested to see at the Traverse, most, if not all, said to catch Maxwells new play. Maxwell’s reputation is one of tight, dramatic works that are above all else, true examinations of the human spirit. So Young, his latest theatrical feat,is no different.
Davie (Andy Clark) and Liane (Lucianne McEvoy) are heading to Milo’s for dinner. It’s a simple affair, a dinner they’ve done hundreds of times over the course of their decade’s long friendship, but this time, Milo (Nicholas Karimi) has a special guest. Only three months after the passing of his wife, Mila has a new girlfriend, Greta, whose twenty years younger than him and just graduated from acting school. It shocks middle aged couple Davie and Liane, and it cracks their friendship (and an expensive bottle of Japanese whiskey) wide open.
Gareth Nicholls, the Traverse Theatre’s Artistic Director, directed this comedy impeccably, making sure every side conversation, every lingered look, was caught by the audience. The ensemble was superb, but it was McEvoy’s gorgeous portrayal of schoolteacher Liane that left me weeping. It’s a wonderful piece of theatre: funny, clever, and excellently executed.
Mark Fisher called So Young “an unashamedly middle-aged play” and he’s not wrong. Maxwell touches on Covid so delicately, a time that we are so quick to want to move beyond as a society and as theatre audiences (I remember distinctly how many people prayed for no Covid plays at last year’s Fringe), I was very impressed. It’s brilliantly written start to finish and one of the best crafted plays, in classical dramatic structure, I’ve seen this year.
So Young is on at the Traverse Theatre until 26 August at various times.
Buy tickets here.
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