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Four stars

When a middle aged married man called Iain turns up at Zara’s Edinburgh New Town des-res in a block overloaded with AirBandBs, Zara mistakes him for an intruder. Given that Zara’s take on temporary accommodation is to front her flat as a cooperative brothel, the negotiations that follow take an interesting turn. Especially as Iain is her former teacher, and has booked a session with a ‘boy’ who turns out to be just turned thirty Jay. 

 

Business is business in Kieran Hurley’s new play, a dark farce given a rollicking production for the Traverse by Roxana Silbert. With a cast led by a brilliant Conleth Hill as Iain, the unholy trio is completed by Dani Heron as a fierce Zara and Anders Hayward as Jay. 

As Zara takes charge, she reveals a working knowledge of the contradictions inherent in the system, and can call out Thomas The Tank Engine and other kids classics as explorative tools of the state with ease. Jay, meanwhile, has his own problems, as the indoor playground all three attempt to make their own becomes swamped with infinitely more grown up stuff from afar. 

The merry dance the trio embark on across Anna Orton’s nouveau tenement bedroom set reveals a series of not quite mid life crises as all involved are forced to confront their everyday failures. As broken dreams collide, however, unlikely alliances are formed as each finds some kind of comfort with the other to form something resembling a family unit in this strangest of ménages.

Traverse Theatre until 27th August, various times


The List, August 2023

ends



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