By Sam Oshins 

SAND Scratch Night “Millenials” was without a doubt fun, which is exactly what is branded itself to be.  Al Gillespie, one third of the SAND (St Andrews New Drama) team introduced the show tonight with exactly those words: “SAND is fun, easy, relaxed, and new.” The show tonight showcased four short plays written and directed by the St Andrews community. “Something Borrowed” by Emma Middleton—who won the previous scratch night, getting the chance to have this show tonight—and directed by Jack Briggs. “The Conversation” written by Gareth Owen and directed by Nataliea Abramowitz.  “Script” by Jack Briggs, Directed by Elliot Douglas. And finally “John and Jane” by Adam Spencer and directed Jamie Jones.

It was not a great show. Though it had some good moments, the night as a whole suffered due to a mixture of effort between the shows. Opening up with “Something Borrowed” by Emma Middleton, a show about a groom stressing about his wedding, and a supporting cast of characters only causing him more stress. This piece seemed to rely heavily on outdated and under-developed stereotypes, including overly flamboyant gay-men, who we were supposed to understand were gay because they dressed in bright patterns, and rolled up their jeans, gossip-y women, and overly cynical children. Though it was never outright prejudiced, it would have been nice to see some more nuanced characters and storytelling.

Immediately following was the piece “The Conversation” about a soon to be fresher and an old woman waiting for the bus. This piece had some really interesting things to say about how generations interact, and Matthew Landsell played the part of indignant millennial fabulously. This piece definitely relied on the writing heavily, having the actors sit for nearly the entire thing, though I do not think this detracted on the whole, the rather random inclusion of a bunch of ‘youths’ felt forced and unnecessary. In contrast to that, “Script” by Jack Briggs I think could have done with a little less action. The piece obviously had scenes written in, and the farthest reaching story arch of any of the pieces of the night. However, because of this, it lacked any real characterization, telling a story that never really landed, feeling naïve and somehow overly complex for the scale of the night. Though potentially an interesting full length show, at the current iteration, it packed a huge amount in to too few words, and ultimately this meant the piece as whole felt overly ambitious.

The final reading of the night was of Adam Spencer’s “John and Jane” a very comedic piece of meta-theatre about a date night gone terribly wrong. Though Jared Leibmiller, Corrinne Latti, and Cate Kelly were all fantastic in their individual roles, the omniscient voice of the restaurant as done by Hannah Raymond-Cox was what really landed the comedy. Extremely well directed by Jamie Jones, it was a great fit for the final piece of the night.

In general, the show had a lot of ups and downs. Two comedies, and two dramas, directed in four very different ways, it was never going to be a show that flowed perfectly. However, that is the beauty of SAND—it’s not supposed to. SAND is about new writing, and new writers getting a chance to see their writing put up on stage, and really must be commended for that. It was casual, relaxed and really very fun.