EDINBURGH 2021: Review: TRIPLE BYPASS, The Space Online

Filmed live and stage in an empty South Dakota theatre, Triple Bypass is a collection of three ten minute plays about living and dying. There is a trigger warning that some material might be distressing and a list of potentially upsetting content and the performance is captioned throughout.

The first play is my personal favourite and is called Seeking Dignity. A man seeking to end his life puts out a personal ad for somebody to assist him with his death but things don't quite go as he had planned. I thought this play was completely gripping and extremely unpredictable.

The second play, Close To Black is a bit of a mixed bag. Two women meet after death, clearly from different periods. I'm not sure if the ending is supposed to be a twist as to who the women are (it took me a few minutes to work out who the woman from the '80s was) but the appearance of the more current music icon is far more obvious. The two discuss the way they were mistreated by the media and the industry- "the machine puts you in rehab and then takes you out to tour". It's a slow burner but the women finding common ground is quite touching and when you put aside the slightly dodgy London accent it is enjoyable.

The third play Tango-ed Web is from the point of view of three insects and this one didn't grip me at all I'm afraid. As all of the plays presented are just ten minutes long, it wasn't too much of a hardship to watch but it missed the mark and seemed worse off for being grouped with the other two more impressive pieces.

Triple Bypass is available on demand at The Space Online.