@ Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, on Fri 22 May 2015
29 students, three directors and the culmination of years of work have led to this performance by the 2nd year HND students from Edinburgh College’s Performing Arts Studio Scotland (PASS), and some performances in particular are outstanding.
The first play, directed by Gordon Dougall, tells the eerie story of where our ‘progressive society’ may lead with regards the ‘underclass’. The young man playing the lead – a professor whose book, intended to improve the lives of the underprivileged in society, becomes the catalyst for something far more sinister – is a stand out, as is Norma, the professor’s sister, played ably by a young man bringing some comedic relief to the, at times, uncomfortable storyline.
A particularly impressive feature of tonight’s performance is the slick transitions between plays and we quickly moved into a more familiar, more comfortable setting – a tea dance for the elderly in a well-directed and emotive piece about growing old. The play by Fiona Miller follows the characters from fifteen year olds full of hopes and dreams, through family lives and careers, before kids fly the nest and retirement leads to a feeling of: is this it? There are again stand-out performances – the young girl who takes on the role of an obnoxious teenager, the young lady who gives birth four times in two minutes, and the young man who plays her less than enthusiastic husband to name but a few.
And so we move into the final play of the night, returning once more to a more serious and uncomfortable tone as the audience are encouraged to revisit where they were when the 9/11 attacks took place. The young cast may have just been children back in 2001 but they too have memories. Each actor tells the audience where they were on that fateful day before taking on the role of an office worker in one of the Twin Towers. For the third time this evening the minimalist set is used effectively; two ladders becoming stairs and an elevator, having previously in the evening played the part of sanitation chambers! No stand-outs perhaps in this performance but the movement throughout was expertly crafted by director, Gerry Mulgrew.
There are certainly some stars of the future on display tonight and when next year’s HND course ‘passes out’, I’ll be sure to go and watch, and so should you!