This play is the perfect beginning, end, and middle to any drama-enthusiast’s day. Sweltering in the Edinburgh summer sun, I was near tears by the time Tom (Will Chambers) and Marley (Josie Francis) had parted ways.
The Aireborne Theatre production opens with the pair waiting for the ever-delayed last train of the night. Tom smiles at Marley and is swiftly informed that beaming at vulnerable young women in a tube station is in fact creepy. His surprised defence that he is “one of the nice guys” sets the tone for much of the semi-ironic humour that is to follow. Writers/directors Emilie Clark and Ishwari Yardi have created characters whose language is eloquent yet natural—emotional yet interspersed with genuinely funny comments. These attempts to lighten the mood are almost wholly successful and make the characters far more realistic; they are self-deprecating rather than being funny for the sake of an audience.
There are few ways in which Chambers and Francis could have improved their performances: both are enthusiastic and energetic, and rarely deliver a line that does not match their body language. The quiet reactions, minute facial expressions and varied gestures all give the appearance of two actors very comfortable in their roles. Francis especially took advantage of the small setting, shooting dark glares out into the audience after emotional rants.
Serena Birch Richardson showcases her versatility, playing roles including a therapist, a takeaway owner, and a school friend, as well as several others. This helps to break the single-scene monotony that could easily have crept into this play; Birch Richardson provides both humour and pain, as Tom and Marley look back to “when [their lives] were perfect”.
Grace Conway’s very minimal staging is effectively transformed into a variety of different scenes, although some transitions were clearer than others. Unfortunately, the venue is not quite suited to this set-up: flat seating and a relatively low stage meant that audience members were frequently moving around in order to see the actors, who at times were utterly obscured.
Although we are introduced to the characters as very troubled young people, and The Beatles’ ‘Here Comes the Sun’ ends the final scene, there is no suggestion that this chance encounter with a stranger has solved all of the pair’s problems. Instead, The End of the Line teaches us to seek out progress from where it has been hiding, and to recognise how far we have come, rather than only seeing our distance from a rose-tinted past.
★★★★★
Words by Georgia Douglas.
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