Theatre review: All New People (with Zach Braff), Theatre Royal, Glasgow

TO FANS of the NBC hospital comedy Scrubs, the actor and writer Zach Braff is a superstar; so much so that some in the audience actually screamed, when the curtain rose on last night’s Glasgow premiere of his new play, to reveal the man himself standing on a chair with a noose around his neck.

Millions of others, though, have yet to hear of Zach; although that could soon change, on the evidence of this funny, fast-moving four-handed comedy about today’s lost middle-class thirtysomethings.

Bound for London, where it opens next week, All New People is directed by Peter DuBois and set in a beach house lent to our hero, Charlie, by his wealthy friend Kevin. On his 35th birthday, Charlie decides to end it all; but his suicide is interrupted by the arrival of Emma, an estate agent who is trying to let the house.

Stir into the mix Emma’s drug dealer Myron, who has a day job as the local fire chief, and the lovely Kim, an “escort” sent by Kevin to cheer Charlie up, and you have a recipe for a full and frank exchange about the meaning of life. The whole event is given a touch of glamour by four filmed sequences, in which we learn some key truths about the past of each character.

The language is strong, dirty, and very funny; the one-liners are sharp, the acting hard to fault. And the story combines a touch of upbeat sentimentality with an acute self-awareness, that is thought-provoking; as if it were seriously asking how much hope can be allowed to a generation who began their lives in privilege, but who now find that the roof is falling in.

Rating: ****