The Nobodies – Edinburgh Fringe

Amy Guyler’s cleverly constructed political drama is set against the backdrop of cuts in the NHS and the ominous shadow of privatisation. Three young friends – Aaron (David Angland), Curtis (Joseph Reed) and Rhea (Lucy Simpson) are brought together by their shared passion to save their local NHS hospital and heal the fractured community that they are a part of. A piece of vital information is disclosed to the three friends and this in turn sparks a buzz of palpable revolution in the air – events start to dramatically overtake all three characters and their shared story.

Directed with finesse by Sam Edmunds and Vikesh Godhwani, this is a powerful piece of theatre that says a lot about society and how people can make themselves heard and understood. It is also a play about change, whether for good or bad and how Guyler’s characters deal with a situation that could easily get out of hand.

We are left with the question, how far are we prepared to go to facilitate change? For the three characters there is no clear answer as they find themselves being drawn even deeper into something that is beyond their control.

Even though the main thrust of Guyler’s play is quite dark and edging towards political thriller territory towards the final third part, Edmunds and Godhwani have great fun incorporating some surreal elements into the performance and the lighting design (Alan Walden) and superb sound design (Mekel Edwards) work in perfect harmony to produce a coherent and beautifully realised staging.

Angland, Reed and Simpson give consistently excellent performances throughout and their physicality and energy quite literally ignites the stage.

This is a bold and of the moment drama which doesn’t show its true terrible colours until the finale but one thing is for sure it definitely needs to find a wider audience. https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/nobodies

Reviewer: Kiefer Williams

Reviewed: 21st August 2021

North West End UK Rating: ★★★★★