Eggs is a new work from the writer and actor of VAULT Festival 2015’s sold-out, critically-acclaimed show, Love To Love To Love You. The play was chosen by Nick Hern Books to be published in an anthology of their five favourite plays at the VAULT Festival 2016.

Two friends from university are now living two completely different lives. They are now in their late 20s, and the only things that keep them together are a pressure to fulfil society’s expectations and a good old-fashioned 90s night. The play takes place over the course of a year in which the two girls go through several ups and downs, but always have time to come together and talk about life. Their normally trite topics take a dark turn as they discuss the untimely loss of their friend, IVF, fertility, feminism, alien movies starring Scarlett Johansson, drugs and relationships. Yet as soon as Cher’s Believe comes on, all is forgotten.

It seems, like most female friendships, that no matter what life throws at them and however many fights they might get into, they are always there for each other and are the only form of stability that the other one has. The play is one long existential crisis that reminds us that as long as we have friends, everything will be alright.

The characters are simply referred to as Girl 1 and Girl 2. Girl 1 (Florence Keith-Roach) is a free spirit who still hasn’t quite found her calling in life, but for now MDMA and a bit of 90s dance music will do. Girl 2 (Amani Zardoe) is more career-orientated and is looking for stability in her work and personal life. Girl 1 has several monologues that to any decent friend would cause alarm bells to ring. However, Girl 2 seems to miss her friend’s desperate cries for help, often fobbing them off as attention-seeking. In an age when mental health is often discussed as a growing problem, they are quite dismissive of it, which is off-putting.

The characters work nicely in contrast to each other, although the ‘free spirit’ versus the more reserved friend is a well-known plot drive. However, Eggs definitely fulfils its role as a dark comedy, successfully turning a bunch of serious topics into comedy. Writer Keith-Roach understands comedy writing well and the delivery is flawless – even the awkward dance routine to Cher’s Believe is more funny that uncomfortable to watch.

Eggs plays at The Vaults as part of the VAULT Festival until 6 March. For more information and tickets, see the VAULT Festival website.