Stepping into Theatre 1 of theSpace on the Mile, a mid-game pool table decorated with beer bottles, tinsel and a sparkly ‘Happy New Year’ banner throw us straight into a New Year’s bar setting. And So On Theatre’s ’86’ sweeps the audience up into an immersive and all-consuming dive into the intertwined lives of a friend group and their ever-changing relationships.

We begin in media res, thrown into the action with no hesitation and a member of the friend group from the moment the play begins. We watch, captivated by the electric energy and fast-paced banter between friends. As the plot unfolds, the audience has to piece together their backstories and relationships and are not told any extra information other than how the friends relate to each other. We become a part of the complex web of the friend group, at the centre of the tension.

The immersive atmosphere is all the more accentuated by the ingenious set design and choreography; the actors use the entire room, blurring the boundaries between audience seating and stage. In one hilarious scene the room becomes a karaoke stage as a microphone is placed down next to the audience on the left and characters perform drunken and off-pitch renditions of ‘Last Christmas’. Glistening moments of comedy such as this alleviate the tension, entrancing the audience for the entire 45 minutes. The seamless integration of elements such as set design, lighting, and sound are all the achievements of the actors themselves, taking on almost all roles including directing and writing.

The characters all felt extremely real with individual virtues and flaws. Laura Copeland’s moving performance of Alannah, a grieving daughter clinging to hope, tugged on the audience’s heartstrings. Elena Spaven excelled in performing Poppy, whose drunk behaviour is a coping mechanism for unrequited love. All while capturing the drunken chaos of free spirits in their twenties, the writing is sincere and heartfelt in its originality, using New Year’s resolutions to see the characters wrestle with hopes and ambitions and exploring themes such as the conflict between professional and personal realms. What is undoubtedly a hidden gem of this year’s Fringe transforms the characters into your own friends, even for just a little while.

‘86‘ has finished its Fringe run