Mark Harrington’s script is intense and refreshingly real. This is an impressive debut, full of raw feeling and an understanding of the lives it seeks to represent. Some tweaking and shaping to the script could allow the text to land with even greater force, particularly by extending some of its most powerful discoveries. Tony’s first experience of finding a love for being onstage, for instance, feels like a moment that deserves to be savoured just a little longer. It is precisely because the material is so affecting that one occasionally wishes it would trust its strongest moments to linger. 

Jordan Langford directs with precision, breath-taking realism and a wonderfully subtle touch. There is no unnecessary embellishment here; instead, Langford allows the performances, relationships and silences to do the heavy lifting. The result is theatre that feels immediate and lived in, never losing sight of the humanity at its centre. Ernest Acquah’s sound design propels the narrative forward with real pace, sustaining momentum while keeping the storytelling sharply focused. James Dean’s lighting is specific and atmospheric, shaping the emotional landscape with impressive economy. Meanwhile, Justin Williams demonstrates just how much can be achieved with very little. The creation of distinct theatrical spaces from limited material is not merely effective but entirely appropriate to a production whose power lies in what it reveals rather than what it shows us.