The lights go up on a run-down flat with a couple, Pat and Susan, that look like they're in the middle of one hell of a row. Their abode is dingy and dull, with a massive burn shot through the centre of the floor. It's New Year's Eve. The tension that fills the room is overpowering and I immediately want to know what's been going on between the two before we, as an audience, met them. Enter Max, suited and booted, gorgeous and cocky, lighting the fuse on what should be a firecracker of a play.The actors, quite frankly, are sensational. They react to each other perfectly, personifying their characters in such a convincing manner that, at one point, I felt myself physically repulsed by Max, absolutely forgetting for a moment that he was just a man playing a character. From the word go Pat induces such sympathy in you that, when he is being tormented, you almost want to rush the stage and just give him a hug. Susan sits in silence with her back to the audience for a good 10 minutes, yet still reacts to every word said on stage and when she finally comes into play her presence is such that she manages not to get lost amidst the boy's strong performances. I could not fault their ability; they held me captivated every second and yet I feel that they were the only thing that held the performance together.The writing is fairly well done, and very natural though this is marred by the fact that it never really seems to deliver any answers. The narrative of relationships between characters and sub-characters can be confusing and it all ends so abruptly and so quickly (the entire thing clocked in at just under 45 minutes) that I came away feeling unsatisfied and disappointed. The newspaper strewn about the space is underused but has a headline scarily relevant to the plot, though I felt, in the end, it just got in the way underfoot. And the massive burn that is so prominent? It's never explained.There were things I loved about this. The game of 'I Have Never' brought at least a little relief from the constant tension and I was impressed by the use of sound in the show. The dull thumping of a party in the 'upper flat' is very convincing while being non-intrusive and gives a definite feeling of the passage of the night through the steadily more drunken shouts and the countdown to midnight. The saving grace in all this though, ultimately, is the superb and consistently high standard of performance given by the actors. They completely carry the show along and make you genuinely believe in the people stood before you. I wish I had been given a cast list to give them the recognition they deserve. This could have been average at best, but due to some of the finest acting talent at the Fringe, it ends up being quite enjoyable.
