Between[author-post-rating] (3/5 Stars)

between was sold out on the day I saw it. As I arrived at Surgeon’s Hall gulping down the last of my paper cup of coffee, I found myself at the back of a huge queue of middle-aged gay men. Hey, I thought, maybe this show is the BEST SHOW EVER? A sell-out, a long queue, a buzz of curious excitement in the air. But alas, despite its numerous lovely moments, I imagine between sold-out because of the homoerotic flyer and its promise of scenes containing nudity rather than a prestigious reputation. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Nor is there anything wrong with the sight of a flaccid penis on stage at midday on a Monday morning. It’s more that I get tired of the standard soppy theatrical representation of gym bunny white gay guys with abs and chiseled jaws, while so many other life experiences go under the radar.

We are introduced to two young men and three separate scenarios. In the first, they are two lovers in the drab days of a failing relationship; in the second, they are school kids undergoing the hormonal upheaval of puberty; and finally, they are an academic and his student, assessing a Shakespearean sonnet. The scenarios switch often, with the two actors swapping T-shirts accordingly. Nicholas Campbell is excellent as the laddish teenager who inevitably freaks out after dabbling in mutual masturbation with his male friend. As the young man at the end of the long-term relationship, Campbell’s knack for timing is superb – during each argument, his pauses and deep breaths make the turmoil of a broken-down relationship absolutely tangible. His counterpart, Oskar Brown, comes across as the sort of man you really shouldn’t date – the introspective type who’s so full of self-loathing and self-love that he’ll never be good for you. Maybe I was just thinking of an ex-boyfriend, but the sheer aloofness of his character is oddly compelling. And as the school kid, Brown comes into his own. His subtle and understated camp gestures lucidly portray the anxiety of being in the closet in secondary school.

Each scenario slowly reaches a relatively satisfying moment of climax, but it is the dismal scenes between the academic and the student that damages the show overall. In this part of the play, the script is clogged by cliche: a Shakespearean sonnet? Really? Is this 10 Things I Hate About You all over again? Its inevitable moment of climax is dampened by easy sentiment. While I’d ached for the mixed-up school kid and felt affected by the doomed relationship, the over-romanticised woes of the academic left me disinterested. This is a shame, as there are great performances, laugh-out-loud moments and painfully genuine emotions on display throughout the rest of the show.

Between is on at theSpace @ Surgeon’s Hall at 13:05 until 17 of August. For more information and tickets, see the Edinburgh Fringe website.