So Young – Traverse Theatre

Off the back of its Edinburgh Fringe run, Douglas Maxwell’s So Young returns to the Traverse Theatre, directed by Artistic Director, Gareth Nicholls.

Milo (Robert Jack) is in his forties and has recently lost his wife, Helen. Struck down with grief, he invites his friends, married couple Liane (Lucianne McEvoy) and Davie (Andy Clark) for an evening of food, drinks and reminiscing. However, he also invited his new partner, Greta (Yana Harris), who is 20 years younger than him. It isn’t long before tensions rise, and feelings are made known between these life-long friends. So, Young explores the different ways in which grief affects people as well as the struggles of getting older.

Maxwell approaches his themes with his notorious wit, providing the audience with many laughs throughout the play while also giving his characters a lot of depth in the more emotional beats. It is evident that Nicholls has spent a lot of time working through the text with the actors, ensuring no moments are lost. This is especially clear in the fantastic use of silence during the piece. A tool which many creatives often shy away from, the stillness of this piece heightens the tension and awkwardness that the characters are feeling. It never felt forced or overdone, it was always effective and well-balanced amongst the text.

The play thrives from its opposition – Davie and Liane, the married couple, versus Milo, recently widowed, and Greta, much younger than the rest. Clark and McEvoy have great chemistry with each other and portray the genuine trials and tribulations of a middle-aged couple married for so long. Their tender, intimate moments feel genuine, as do the argumentaitve times. McEvoy especially delves into the ways Helen’s loss has affected Lianne, eliciting a strong sense of sympathy from the audience.

On the other hand, as Milo, Jack gives us a different form of grief – shutting it down and trying to move on. Jack creates a lot of anticipation as we wait to see if his grief will fully form once faced with his memories and memories of those arond him. As Great, Harris becomes the voice of the youth, a staple of Maxwell’s work. When faced with prejudice, she subverts the stereotypes of the older people in the room. It would be easy to fall into a stock character portrayal of Great but Harris has great success in making Greta feel natural and genuine. While younger, she too faces struggles in her life and career.

A nice touch of this production was its use of space, assisted by the lighting. The set, designed by Kenny Millar, subtly showed Milo’s house without being cluttered and distracting. With each scene change, we saw different groups of characters use parts of the house. Kate Bonney’s lighting design allowed for slick changes to make each group the main focus while still keeping the other characters visible as we enjoyed their silent awkwardness.

So Young is a realistic portrayal of grief and ageing filled with humour and heart It is an example of how slick a production can be when time is spent productively, navigating it piece by piece.

Reviewer: Dylan Mooney

Reviewed: 25th October 2025

North West End UK Rating: