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Theatre listings > Love, Sex And Cider. - Tour. Playwright - Paul Charlton. Director - Marc de Launay. Lighting Designer - Tina Wolf. Company - Jacuzzi Theatre. Cast - here . Venue - D Theatre . Dates - 20 – 22 January Traverse, Edinburgh at 7.30 pm then at The Pleasance Theatre, London 25 – 30 January. Seen to review at Traverse, Edinburgh on 20 Janurary 2005. Reviewer - Lorraine McCann. Element of ‘class tourism’. A couple of years ago, having driven past it numerous times, I decided to go and have a proper look at The Angel of the North. Of course, up close, it’s an even more awesome sight, a curvaceous colossus in bold, ferric red. My head was roughly the same height as its big toe. However, what I remember most about that trip was the graffiti etched into its feet. ‘Sharon’s a cow’; ‘Emma luvs Billy’; ‘Phone Dave Thomson for sex’. You couldn’t help but smile. In 2003’s Fringe First winner Love, Sex and Cider, the names might be different but the culture is the same. Connor, Jonny, Rachael and Jill are hormonal time-bombs who spend their leisure hours hanging out in a park, drinking cider and eyeing each other up for the main chance. By turns aggressive, shy, manipulative, trusting, brave and outrageously selfish, they are a vividly drawn quartet of the sort that would have sex-educationalists reaching for the Lambrini. And feminists reaching for the razor blades. Of course, it’s easy to see why Love, Sex and Cider would go down well with the characters’ peer group. And it was indeed noticeable how many very young adults were packed into Traverse 2 to see it. But unless you’re either of that age, or work with people of that age, or have no contact with ‘the underclass’, so that a play like this has an element of ‘class tourism’ for you, it’s hard to see what sets this apart from an episode of Byker Grove. Indeed, although there is some broad comedy relating to trousers being pulled down and premature ejaculation, I found it a mildly depressing experience. In fact, maybe they should pass those bottles of White Lightning round the audience, too. The performances were very good, however, especially writer Paul Charlton’s carefully modulated portrayal of Jonny, ‘the sensitive one’. So if you need to re-acquaint yourself with the tyranny and sheer boredom of aimless adolescence, this is the one for you. © Lorraine McCann 20 January 2005 - Published on EdinburghGuide.com Theatre Editor, Thelma Good's e-mail is thelma@edinburghguide.com Although every effort has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the information presented in these pages, no responsibility can be accepted for any errors or omissions. Theatre listings >
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