Musical gem that is set to take off in a big way

Published on Thursday 14 August 2008 09:16

Departure Lounge, ***** Musical Theatre, George Square THERE'S a magic rule of thumb that pervades Edinburgh in August; the larger the venue, the more expensive the set, the more disappointing the show.

While exceptions pop up every now and then, Departure Lounge sticks firmly to the rule, showing spectacularly just what it's possible to do with four plastic chairs and two good guitarists in the space of 90 minutes.

Describing itself as High School Musical with a hangover, the story is a very British homage to four teenage boys coming of age.

Think Summer Holiday but with Gary and Tony from Men Behaving Badly driving the bus.

Although easily mistaken for the usual British lager louts lining the beaches of the Spanish Costas, there's rather more imagination and a lot more soul-searching under the boys' sun-blistered veneer than the usual holidaymakers.

The scene is set in a Spanish airport, capturing perfectly the frustration and life-changing magic of the four-hour mark in a departure lounge.

Anything under and there's still hope, anything more and it's time to heave out the Vera Lynn and start organising a place to sleep behind the closed EasyJet desk on a piece of cardboard, using your rucksack as a pillow and the free FT you got passing through Schiphol as an eye-mask.

Caught in limbo between the week they've just spent boozing in Malaga and the A-level results waiting to decide their future at home, JB, Jordan, Pete and Ross have nothing to do but wait.

In the following hour and a half, the secrets they've been hiding from one another tumble out. The week they've just spent drinking together and the mysterious Sophie, who knows far more about them than they know about themselves, plays a significant part in upending their friendship.

Written by actor Dougal Irvine, the musical has already won several plaudits and a short run at the Arts Theatre in London as Unzipped.

The space this has afforded the play to develop is much in evidence.

The interactions between the boys are relaxed and authentic. It is almost as if you're sitting in on one of your little brother's conversations. There's the same camaraderie, in-jokes and politically incorrect ribbing from years of fighting together over Top Trumps in the playground.

The songs naturally flow from the dialogue and the characters' own traits and Jordan's dislike of the term gay being used in a derogatory way triggers a fabulous and utterly Chavtastic justification in song of using it as a sweary word.

In many ways, the tale brings back all the nostalgia and affection we have for the friends who are forever sworn to secrecy about our darkest teenage secrets, and most of the adult ones too. Who doesn't remember that last lazy summer spent with your pals before heading off to face the big bad world alone?

Completely unpretentious in its nature, Departure Lounge is one of those rare gems that an audience can relate to, no matter their class, education or age.

It might even persuade some of those lads not out of place in a Karaoke bar tearfully singing Angels and chugging After Shock to give culture a try.

&#149 Until August 24