Theatre review: Maria, 1968, C (Venue 34), Edinburgh

By DAVID POLLOCK
Published on 07/08/2012 13:00

IN a typical student flat furnished with reclaimed furniture and elaborate bongs, young writer Noah sits at his typewriter living the dream.

Maria, 1968

C (Venue 34)

Rating: ***

He writes, he fails to finish anything, he gets stoned with his charmingly gormless flatmate Ed, and his photographer girlfriend Lily ends up so hollowed out by frustration that she dumps him.

In tandem, his characters play out their own caper-strewn drama, as three plummy young Englishmen holidaying on Crete become trapped on the island after one has a drunken fling with a simple village girl. The relevance of the titular date is unclear.

The main flaw here is a sense of emotional inexperience best summed up by one scene in which Noah, without any apparent irony, bemoans the fact he’s 22 years old and his life has amounted to nothing.

Such observations aren’t meant to damn or patronise, though.

The ensemble cast are uniformly excellent, with no performance ringing anything less than true and solidly professional, while the strong staging incorporates subtly impressive tableau like Lily making her entrance, or Noah directing his cast of characters in mid-scene, taking first positions and restaging like a theatre director.

By no means unsatisfying, this is a bold and confident calling card from a young Fringe company to watch.

• Until 27 August. Today 4:05pm.