Lorna Irvine is impressed by this bittersweet touring production.
From the most unprepossessing of locations- a 1950s beetle drive in a town hall - comes Jules Horne's Fringe First winner 2012 from Nutshell Theatre, a bittersweet meditation on friendship, love, marriage and illness.
Ditzy Joan (Nicola Jo Cully) and Jack the Lad type William (Stephen Docherty) have just got married in the small seaside town of Burntisland and are full of hope for a blissful, long-lasting relationship. But there is a third wheel threatening their domestic idyll: bolshie Izzy (Gowan Calder), Joan's interfering best friend with whom she seems to be joined at the hip. They do everything together, and William cannot shake her off. Worse yet, Izzy has crazy ideas about moving away to London and actually doing something with her life, whereas Joan's aspirations seem to only extend as far as working in the local post office.
So far, so prosaic, and the stultifying nature of marriage and small-town life is richly captured in three excellent performances. Words spill out like diary entries small and concise from the trio, painting a time of post-war innocence where men were men and women slaves, expecting little and getting even less in return.
But as the play progresses, it is clear that Izzy has more than friendship in mind with Joan, and as Joan reaches old age, unwanted secrets tumble out- the marriage exposed as less than perfect. Cully's acting as the older, Alzheimer’s- suffering Joan is utterly wonderful and touches all in the room who simply expected a fun, nostalgic night out and a wee game of beetle.
Touring throughout Scotland in September/October. See www.nutshelltheatre.co.uk for details.
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