Max and Stevie are headed for the end of year disco at the bear pit that is a regular secondary school, somewhere in the west of Scotland. The school’s a dog eat dog world and the disco has come to represent the brutality of the day to day hustle and bustle, with bells on. The final rite of passage at the disco sees those who’ve NEVER BEEN KISSED (the VLs), form a circle in the centre of the hall and receive appropriate ridicule.

VL boasts a fast, funny script with a steady sense of heart from Scottish playwrights Kieran Hurley and Gary McNair. Orla O’Loughlin‘s direction is fizzily buoyant. The boys burst onto the stage and fidget and frolic and fritter their way through their hour long wait for the next bus with just the amount of audience involvement you’d expect in Summerhall’s Roundabout.

Max (Scott Fletcher) is determinedly optimistic amidst the merciless mockery and unforgiving corridors of the Wild West of a school. Stevie (Gavin Jon Wright) flaunts his (he thinks) unassailable upper hand in the VL department. Wright also turns in a series of expertly choreographed, enjoyable cameos – as Max’s super smooth girl next door, as the school bully convinced he’s a grime artist in the making, and the teacher everyone dreads taking their class, Joe The Bigot.

Amidst the bravado and the bluster, a more truthful story emerges: of two boys trying to find their way in a world chock full of expectations and intolerance. Max and Stevie decide to make a stand – what might seem like a small one to adult eyes but a stand that’s momentous when seen through those of an anxious teenager. This audience was rooting for them.

VL is at Summerhall – Roundabout until Mon 26 Aug 2024 at 20:10