Review: SO YOUNG, Traverse Theatre

So Young is a new play written by Douglas Maxwell and directed by Gareth Nicholls and it is part of Trav Fest 24.

Milo (Nicholas Karimi) invites his oldest friends round for the evening for a night of drinks and conversation. The trio have known each other since teacher training and married couple Liane (Lucianne McEvoy) and Davey (Andy Clark) were good friends with Milo's late wife, Helen. 

The surprise of the evening isn't just that Milo is introducing a new girlfriend to them soon after his wife's passing, it's that she's 20 years old. Greta (Yana Harris) shortly bursts into Milo's home and Liane and Davey have to try and hide their feelings about her age and the fact that Milo appears to be moving on. 

So Young is a play that challenges your initial instincts. Greta is still studying and working part-time in a bar and Milo's insistence that she's wise beyond her years comes off as pathetic. His friends tell him he's still grieving and the writing examines whether there's a "right" way to grieve. 

There are standout performances across the board. McEvoy is excellent as Helen's best friend, a woman who feels it is down to her to keep the memory of her friend alive. She tries to hide her disdain for Greta initially but as the wine flows finds it harder to do so. Clark plays Davey, Liane's husband, a fairly neutral man who tries to keep things civil. Harris is wonderful as Greta, a woman who I think we all made assumptions about.

So Young is a very well-written drama that is completely unpredictable and balances the humour in emotionally turbulent circumstances beautifully.

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