REVIEWED – Two

I have never reviewed something before. Nor did I know if somebody was already going to review Two that night for STAR. However, I went to see Two and felt compelled to write a review for this play.

As a precursor, it should be noted that I have a huge amount of bias in regards to this play. Emma Taylor, playing the pub landlady, is a close friend (although I have recently found out she has multitudes of coffee dates with other people) and Frazer Hadfield, playing the husband and pub landlord, is my flat mate. Like I said, I do not review a great deal, mainly because the vast majority of things I have seen in St Andrews have had either Taylor or Hadfield in them and it feels slightly wrong.

Nonetheless, Two felt different to anything I have seen either Hadfield or Taylor in before. The chemistry between the two was electric, they bounced off each other with consummate ease and the lines flowed smoothly. As a play it was sad, funny and emotional, but the real stars were the two actors. Both showed a pretty incredible ability to play many roles: one minute Frazer was playing an overly confident jack-the-lad, the next Emma was an abused girlfriend trapped in a relationship.

Another special mention must go to the direction. Ben Anderson and Joanna Bowman did a truly fantastic job; the subtle costume changes moved the play along in a seamless fashion.

What struck me most about Two, is that it felt like a show that you would see during The Fringe. The play took place in Aikmans;  a two-person play set downstairs in a pub. Needless to say – it was the perfect setting.  If On The Rocks continues to put on shows of a similar ilk and caliber, there is no reason why this festival cannot continue to grow.