Esme has fled Prestwick and is in her last year at Glasgow School of Art, trying to paint a picture for her final dissertation, but the canvas in her living room remains stubbornly blank. Harris has fled a day job in Aldi to catering college, and is now a kitchen porter in a Glasgow restaurant but the novelty of the proximity to Michelin-starred creativity is starting to wear off. Late one night on a bridge across the Clyde, their respective paths cross. Water Colour shows us the moment that changes everything.

Milly Sweeney‘s new play is a gorgeous jigsaw puzzle. The script charts the respective stories of Esme and Harris, alongside a host of complementary characters that wind their way alongside each other like the three rivers that come together to make the Clyde. There’s a beautiful lyricism to the language and the parallel stories intersect as neatly and satisfyingly as a zip.

The cast of two play all the parts in powerhouse performances. Molly Geddes as Esme is a tough wee soul who’s reached the end of her tether. As Head Chef in Harris’ restaurant, Geddes is monstrous and foreboding. And her anxious, awkward, manifesting mum of Harris is sweetly empathetic. Ryan J Mackay is endearing as the boy made temporarily good – until the sheen of a regular salary wears off and uncertainty grinds him into the ground. His therapist is a teasing, contained contrast. By way of a warning for those who need it, the play’s themes involve depression, mental health and suicide, and both actors do a visceral job of depicting the black pit of despair.

Watertight direction from Sally Reid allows the two stories to live alongside each other with heart-tugging clarity helped by movement from Steve Lauder-Russell. Natalie Fern’s set design has colour in all the right places and lights (Adam Bowers) and music (Ross Brown) wring all the emotion out of this spirited script.

Water Colour won the St Andrews Playwriting Award in 2024 and The Stage Debut Award for Best Writer 2025. This is a wonderful opportunity to see this gem of a play at the Traverse this Fringe. Show runs until 30 August.