Review: HANG, Tron Theatre, Glasgow

Three (Renee Williams) has been brought to some sort of interview room to speak to two official seeming people (played by Pauline Goldsmith and Saskia Ashdown) about a decision that has to be made. While there is a little bit of intrigue, although the show description is vague there is a rough idea of what the question being asked is. The title of the play is also a strong clue. Due to this, some of the suspense loses momentum as the characters dance around what sort of decision this is.

Initially, Three is quiet while One and Two overcompensate with chatter about what Three would like to drink. Hang is a play about the emotional impact on a victim of a crime and we later see Three's emotional outburst about the effect it has had on their family.

The vagueness of Hang is a little frustrating. Running at around 1hr15mins there is too much eluding the subject at hand for it to become properly gripping. Momentum does build early on but it fizzles out as the play takes too long to really go anywhere. It's unclear where Hang is set as all three performers have different accents. The content of the play would suggest that it is perhaps America but it is never stated.

The staging of Hang is excellent and the characters acknowledge that it is an uncomfortable clinical setting that doesn't make for a cosy environment. All three actors give an excellent performance but it doesn't quite make up for the lacklustre script. There are darkly comic moments from Ashdown as she runs through the potential consequences for the criminal that is being discussed but they are sadly fleeting.

Given the subject matter, Hang definitely has the framework to be a gripping piece of theatre but unfortunately doesn't quite reach its full potential.

Hang runs at the Tron Theatre, Glasgow until 7 May.

Photo credit: Mihaela Bodlovic

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