EDINBURGH 2021: Review: EAST BELFAST BOY, Summerhall Online

First staged at Summerhall in 2018, Summerhall Online has a new digital production of Fintan Brady's East Belfast Boy.

With a physical performance from dancer Ryan O'Neill and voiceover by Terrence Keeley, this short film takes a look at the life of a young man figuring out what it means to be an adult.

Techno and dancing is Davy's world. His mates, his girl and clubbing. This film works beautifully for the club scenes and shows how the rest of the world just fades away for him when he's dancing. Phil Kieran's soundtrack is mesmerising and fits the piece perfectly.

While I imagine this is a powerful play onstage, I don't feel as though I missed out on anything due to the care that has been put into this high-quality digital production. Davy is an extremely likeable character despite his wrongdoings. While a lot of his actions are seen as typically masculine and at times aggressive, it is the tenderness with which he speaks about his daughter that makes East Belfast Boy particularly special.

East Belfast Boy is an excellent production that translates very well to screen.

East Belfast Boy is available on demand from 6 August.

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