**** (4 stars)
“Brilliantly Played”
Edinburgh. August. Jess and Iona’s paths keep crossing…
Originally part of the series a Play, a Pie and a Pint, Roisin Sheridan-Bryson’s play is both an extended love song to the city of Edinburgh and a long and convoluted lesbian love story, which may or may not have a happy ending, depending on whether or not you can go back in time/ rewrite endings the way you wish they could go.
Jess and Iona want to tell us their story, whichstarts when they first meet randomly at a Fringe venue. They meet, randomly or by arrangement at bus stops, in venues, on the streets and in the closes of the city. Their tale is also a wonderfully detailed and descriptive account of Edinburgh in August – but they so often remember things differently. Each knows their version of any incident is the correct one, and they continually correct each other – but there are times when, oh yes, they do indeed remember things the same way. And now it’s their last night at the Fringe: how will they have the most fun, see the best show, party till the wee small hours and then…???
Jess, according to Iona, is brilliant, mad, a pain in the arse. She’s a live wire, impulsive, unable to sit still, mouth never silent, engaging with everyone around her, speaking/ acting well before thinking – both enormous fun to be around and a huge liability in certain situations. She has huge impenetrable walls around herself and is terrified to let them down.
Iona could hardly be more different. She’s a quiet, thoughtful, gentle introvert, who nevertheless will go along with anything Jess proposes even though she’d prefer the exact opposite. She’d like to take her time to think before she does or says anything, go slowly through life. She probably always means what she says, and never acts impulsively when she’s not with Jess.
Intersecting, interconnecting, overlapping witty, descriptive, crackling dialogue slowly reveals a story that has been going on [it seems] for several years. It’s pretty obvious right from the start that this unlikely couple not only fancy but love the other – but Jess is incapable of revealing this even to herself, and Iona isn’t going to speak if Jess won’t.
A very small, impressively versatile set, and some every effective lighting add enormously to this play, which crackles with life and vigour most of the time. I could wish that the closing moments’s dialogue was more audible, especially since Iona had her back to me and I was sitting immediately in front of a [very welcome] electric fan…
Both women are brilliantly and contrastingly played – but I can’t credit either actress by name, which is an enormous pity. The script is superb, and the acting excellent – and the audience was loudly appreciative of the [spoiler alert] kiss immediately preceding the blackout.
Lost Girls/ at Bus Stops, The Box at Assembly George Square (Venue 8) for more information go to: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/lost-girls-at-bus-stops
ScotsGay Arts 