Jack Elvey

4Play: 4 New Plays by 4 Scottish Playwrights

12/12/25

Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh

Last year, 4Play comprised four full plays, performed over two nights. This time around, it’s a truncated affair, with excerpts rather than entire scripts. The first two pieces are only ten minutes long, while the second pair are given longer to develop their themes, each with a running time of approximately twenty-five minutes.

We open with a short extract from Ruaraidh Murray’s Chips, directed by Michael Nardone and Jake Sleet. Nothing to do with the California Highway Patrol, this is a fictionalised account of a true-life tale of… microchip theft. Apparently it was a thing in the 1990s. As if breaking, entering and taking apart computers wasn’t enough of a challenge, Kaz (Christie Russell-Brown) is heavily pregnant, and her partner-in-crime, Wan (Calum Manchip), isn’t exactly focused on the job…

The second piece is Brace, written by Geraldine Lang and directed by Matthew Attwood. Paul (Jack Elvey) and Lewis (Kieran Lee-Hamilton) are apprentice scaffolders, struggling to learn their trade without any real guidance. In their business, mistakes have material consequences, and it’s the people at the bottom of the pile who have to pay. Although I appreciate that the physicality of the boys’ work is key to the piece, I can’t help feeling that it’s a mistake to spend so much time constructing the scaffolding; I’d prefer to hear more dialogue and delve further into the plot.

After the interval, it’s Sunday Palms, which is by far our favourite of tonight’s plays. From the opening soundscape – an oddly unsettling aural representation of a man returning home from work to his empty flat – to the awkward dialogue that follows the unexpected appearance of a childhood friend, Sean Langtree’s script is utterly compelling. Directed by Grace Ava Barker, the piece is immediately intriguing, and I’m fascinated to know where the story leads. Why is Brian (Daniel Campbell) so alarmed by Nathan (Langtree)’s presence? Whose victory does the title presage? Langtree’s Nathan is perfectly observed – just that little bit too needy, too edgy – while Campbell nails Brian’s discomfort, his attempts to hold to societal norms in the face of Nathan’s peculiar demands.

Last up, it’s Hunt by Andrea McKenzie, directed by Gwen M Dolan. We’re in the near future, and AI has taken over the cities. Mags (Deborah Whyte) and Joel (McKenzie) are yearning for a simpler life: to step away from their computers and connect with nature. The trouble is, they’re more familiar with tech than they are with tents, neither has remembered to pack the kettle – and how exactly do you light a fire? What’s more, Joel soon discovers that Mags hasn’t been entirely honest with her, and there’s more to this trip than she’s been told…

Reductions in length notwithstanding, 4Play – and other schemes like it – are vital to ensuring that new voices are heard in theatre. 4Play has had considerable success, introducing Katy Nixon’s Cheapo and Mikey Burnett’s Colours Run, which have both spread their wings and flown to critical acclaim. As Scotland’s new writing theatre, it makes perfect sense for the Traverse to support the event, and we’re delighted to have this opportunity to see emerging playwrights develop their skills.

3.2 stars

Susan Singfield

Wish List

16/08/21

theSpaceUK, Triplex, Edinburgh

Tamsin (Chloë Johnson) is struggling to get through the days.

With her parents gone, she is now the sole carer for her older brother, Dean (Michael Robertson), who is housebound by severe OCD, and can’t stop himself from gelling his hair every five minutes and staring moodily at his reflection in the mirror. Attempts to obtain funding for him fall on deaf ears, as Dean’s disability isn’t visible and he’s judged ‘capable of employment.’ Tricky when he can’t push himself into stepping out of the front door.

Somebody has to bring in a wage, so Tamsin takes up a post at an Amazon warehouse, packing goods of all shapes and sizes, under the baleful gaze of the Lead (Jack Elvey), who constantly points out that she’s failing to meet her targets. Somehow, she must push herself to rise above the back ache and the paper cuts and increase her numbers. But how can she settle, when she doesn’t know what trouble Dean is getting into at home? The Lead won’t even let her have a phone for emergencies. Her only consolation is charming fellow-worker, Luke (Josh Dobinson), a good-hearted sort who goes above and beyond the call of duty to help her through her punishing schedule.

This engaging four-hander by Katherine Soper could so easily have been run-of-the-mill, but the script is nuanced and the performances are strong (particularly Robertson, who doggedly stays in character even when he’s merely helping to move the furniture). Scenery changes can be the thorn in the paw of Fringe productions, but these are, for the most part, handled smoothly. Only the scene where Elvey is obliged to double-up as a waiter in a bar seems superfluous.

I love the fact that this is such a nuanced story. Soper resists the temptation to present Lead as an out-and-out villain and, as the play progresses, we learn that he too is just another reluctant cog in the corporate machine. He dislikes having to push his workers to the limit every bit as much as they resent being pushed. I also love the fact that Tamsin and Dean’s situation is never fully resolved and, for that matter, neither is the burgeoning relationship between Tamsin and Luke. Instead, we’re shown the importance of the sibling bond, and the extraordinary resilience that everyday people have to find in order to survive in a brutal world.

Wish List is well worth your attention – and you’ll surely think of it the next time you receive an Amazon delivery.

4.2 stars

Philip Caveney