Walking mean streets of the past
Dramatisation of an acclaimed novel provides rich detail of a blighted upbringing, writes Joyce Mcmillan
0 The production, which is geared in part to a young audience, has a cast of two and utilises a simple but imaginative set
Designer Hyemi Shin sets it with a wonderful, rangy simplicity in the open, gymlike space of The Studio, with a tiny bus shelter to the rear (the kind of place where small-town teenagers hang out) and, to the fore, a range
of four television screens showing recorded images and flashes of text which, with brilliant wit and invention, help the two actors Alex Austin and Kwaku Mills play not only Eddy – whom they both powerfully embody in
different ways – but also his mother, father, and brothers, and a whole range of neighbours and schoolmates.
And if the final message of the story is a simple one – that despite changing official attitudes, homophobia
lingers on, particularly in areas where working-class men have lost so many other sources of identity and pride – then the richness of the detail with which it is told offers some unforgettable insights, making us feel as if we have spent an hour or so walking the streets of Eddy’s village, and have come to a much deeper understanding of the forces that shape its people, and their changing politics.
Until 26 August. Today 2pm, 7pm.