Edinburgh Rep Company kicks off the start of their ambitious 2026 programme with work-in-progress piece Press to Pulp. This noir inspired one act play sees cynical Detective Carmady (Stephen Park) wake up in his office – except this isn’t his office… When Carmady’s client Lady Broadame (Beth Eltringham) calls round, Carmady already knows every detail of her case and how to solve it – he has been here before.
As the play progresses, we uncover three other detectives also stuck in this strange time warp, each thinking this office is their own, each thinking every client who walks through the door is an ex-case of theirs. It is up to them to solve this mystery in order to close the loop, with their main lead being the mysterious typewriter that has been keeping minutes, typing case notes out all on its own…
Written by Oliver Giggins, Press to Pulp is a dark and twisted comedy of errors, already garnering notoriety as an exciting new piece of work, having made it to the BBC’s final top 10% of scripts in their recent open call for writers. With incredibly clever dialogue, Giggins’ quick-witted and dry humour shines through – the audience buckling with laughter, even if it takes a minute for the wry punchlines to sink in. As is the nature of a murder-mystery, the plot is elaborate and tangled, perhaps more so than usual given the twisted time concept. I did find it slightly hard to keep track of all of the action and reasoning at times, finding myself a little confused towards the end as one detective is revealed to be the mole and the mastermind of the operation comes to light. What each of their motivations were for employing this scheme I was unsure of, and how they produced this loop was also a mystery. But given the fantastical and satirical tone of the play, and the fact this is a work in progress, I’ll allow these queries to remain unsolved for now.
The cast completely excelled in this play, giving some of the most steadfast performances I have seen from a work in progress. Even with script-in-hand, the comedy was delivered perfectly with no one missing a beat – in no way did those scripts restrict their work. Park was outstanding as the lead, giving just the right balance between the well-recognisable trope of sardonic and pessimistic noir detective, as well as adding a nice balance of playful cheek and sarcasm to the character.
Aside from the slightly convoluted narrative, the only other real grievance I had with this production was the rather sad looking office door. It was simply a sheet that was half clinging on to an archway which the actors had to carefully duck under. I can absolutely appreciate this as a tool to cast looming shadows in the doorway – very noir-esque. And with this being a decidedly low-budget performance, the lack of resources is understandable, I just wish there was some other way to execute this. But when this performance is fully up and running, with minor tweaks and a bit of polish, it will undoubtedly reach five-star status. I look forward to seeing its development and the huge range of other installations Edinburgh Rep Theatre is bringing to us.
Reviewer: Jessie Martin
Reviewed: 25th January 2026
North West End UK Rating:
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