An entertaining and stimulating piece of absurdist theatre, steeped in Americana and dripping with atmosphere.
This skilfully performed and expertly directed two-hander oozes professionalism and confidence from the very start. As the audience enter, the sound design – “white-noise” radio static – and performer Amy Scollard’s onstage presence, tapping a foot impatiently, force the audience to quieten down and settle into the ambience. A handful of props adorn the stage – crates, maps, notebooks, etc – alongside a single cactus. Every element of visual design – props, costumes, set, lighting – share a uniform, monochrome, muted beige palette. This aesthetic mirrors the desolate setting of the play, while also acting as a blank canvas upon which the performers and script paint a vivid picture, and upon which the audience are invited to fill in further details.
Once the show begins, Jessie Byrne bursts onto the stage, and from there until the end of the show neither performer slacks for a moment. Scollard and Byrne make a perfect duo; they have captivating chemistry and perform with expert skill. From scene to scene, and sometimes even moment to moment, they deftly swap accents, transform their physicality, and shift from deliberately exaggerated caricature to understated nuance without skipping a beat. Under the dynamic co-direction of Aoife Cronin and Lucy Bracken, the performers make excellent use of the thrust stage, with characters boldly striding, pacing, and crawling between all four corners. Every moment is well thought out and executed with precision, down to the scene transitions which are engaging and funny. Even the bows are done to a high standard, consisting of a mini dance routine.
The play is structured into three distinct parts. The first follows two codependent travellers in a Wild Western post-apocalyptic wasteland. The second – arguably the most “philosophical” – sees the same two characters some time later (and performed entirely differently) face – or try to avoid facing – a looming, encroaching threat. The final section introduces two new (presumably – who can be sure?) characters: an estate agent and a prospective first-time homeowner, who’s conversation veers wildly away from the sale of the property. Though distinct in tone, style, and narrative, each scene is linked to the others by specific shared themes, most notably around the past and the future.
In typical absurdist style, narrative details are left intentionally vague. We learn very little about the characters’ backstories; we don’t even learn their names (Scollard and Byrne are credited as “Bang” and “Boom” respectively), and what little we do learn from the characters is left doubtful as they will readily lie to each other. As a result, the play invites you to fill in the blanks and attempt to infer such details yourself. Nods to well-known tropes from American media – notably Westerns – help to provide a frame of reference through which to interpret proceedings.
With such wilful vagueness being a staple of the style, poorly done absurdist theatre can sometimes feel vapid and pointless, or indulgent and smug. Aoife Cronin’s script avoids these pitfalls. Cronin perfectly blends philosophical musings with accessible comedy and narrative drama. Combine this script with excellent direction and acting, and the result is a very compelling play that will entertain you and leave you pondering its mysteries for some time afterwards.
Go West! runs until 16th August at theSpace @ Niddry Street with tickets available at https://www.thespaceuk.com/
Reviewer: Charles Edward Pipe
Reviewed: 12th August 2025
North West End UK Rating: