There can be few settings better suited to contemplating life’s bigger questions than the strange limbo of an airport departure lounge. In Terminal 2, written by David Payne, that familiar mundanity becomes the backdrop to something altogether more poignant.
The simple set consists of little more than airport seating and a screen charting the interminable delay to George (Allan Nicol) and Lynda’s (Janice Fryett) flight. The pair are already waiting as the audience enters, immediately establishing the sense that we have simply stumbled across two ordinary people in transit.
And ordinary they initially seem. Their conversation wanders entertainingly through everything from Al-Qaeda, Viennetta to Russ Abbott, to the supposed similarities of Grindr and Sky+, with occasional witty barbs exchanged without malice. Yet beneath the humour sits an unspoken tension, and gradually the significance of the journey they are making begins to emerge.
Hayes wisely resists allowing the philosophising to become too heavy. There are moments of genuine tenderness alongside some deliciously black humour, while childhood recollections also allow the play to touch upon ideas around masculinity and the expectations placed upon men.
With such a pared-back production, there is nowhere for its two actors to hide. Every pause, gesture and exchange is exposed, yet they rise admirably to the challenge. While the delivery occasionally feels a little stilted or a line fumbled, charming idiosyncrasies emerge that make their relationship feel increasingly authentic.
At just over an hour, Terminal 2 is deceptively simple but quietly affecting. Its slightly surreal conclusion may not offer complete closure, but there are shoots of optimism amongst the bittersweetness.
Most effectively, it leaves you looking differently at the crowds in every departure lounge: wondering about the unseen battles, decisions and life-changing journeys taking place behind seemingly ordinary trips.
Terminal 2 continues its tour with October dates in Wolverhampton and Chester. For What’s on at 53Two visit https://www.53two.com
Reviewer: Lou Steggals
Reviewed: 30th September 2026
North West End UK Rating:
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