bottleneckBottleneck is a masterly demonstration of pulling-the-rug playwriting. Written by award-winning playwright Luke Barnes and produced by HighTide Festival Theatre, the play was one of the break-out successes of the 2012 festival. Back at the Fringe by popular demand, it more than stands up to a second viewing.

We’re on the Boot Estate, Liverpool in 1989. Our protagonist, Greg, is fourteen –  a footy-mad, down-on-his-luck teenager who spends his time describing girls’ genitals as flavours of crisps and earns his pocket money sweeping up hair in a local barber shop. But what starts as a lively coming-of-age story crammed full of beautifully observed idiosyncratic detail, soon derails as its protagonist becomes embroiled in one of the most notorious sporting disasters in British history. But by then it’s too late. We’re swept up in it, with the structure of Barnes’s play mirroring the dreadful obliviousness of the 96 Liverpool supporters who went to watch their team in an FA Cup semi-final on a sunny April afternoon, and never returned.

Barnes dedicates his play to the 96 and he handles the dramatisation with building tension and requisite sensitivity. But like Jimmy McGovern’s award-winning documentary Hillsborough, Barnes couples his evident empathy with simmering political intent. Steven Atkinson directs with admirable clarity, shunning bells and whistles in favour of economy and precision. His main achievement, though, is in drawing out a remarkable performance from LIPA graduate James Cooney, who returns to his celebrated performance as Greg. In truth, it’s difficult to imagine another actor in this role. Cooney brilliantly captures the boundless energy of the pre-pubescent protagonist. His ants-in-his-pants enthusiasm sees him bound across the stage with breathless physicality.

The script has undergone a re-write since its first run, with the most significant alteration coming in the form of a revision to the play’s conclusion. While the previous ending was problematic, without any comment whatsoever, the new one lacks a catharsis, which renders it unsatisfying. But that is a minor caveat to an otherwise brilliant piece of new writing.

While most of their players seem to be heading in the opposite direction, Barnes’s next play, The Saints, sees him switch his attention from the Reds to the Saints. On this evidence, it’s certainly worth a punt.

Bottleneck is at Underbelly, Bristo Square until 22 August. For more information and tickets visit the Edinburgh Fringe website.