EDINBURGH 2013- BWW Reviews: BEATS, Pleasance Courtyard, August 3 2013

A huge hit at last year's Fringe, Beats is an imaginative piece of theatre. Based around mid 1990's dance culture it tells the story of 15 year old Johnno's first rave. Seemingly lead astray by an older friend the naive teenage defies his mother and sneaks off to an illegal rave.

The scene setting is the strongest part of Beats. With strobe lighting, smoke, fast bright lights and a live DJ throughout, it isn't difficult to get lost in the performance. There is brilliant contrast between the boy at this high energy party having just experimented with drugs and then his frantic mother waiting for him to come home.

Kieran Hurley is fantastic. The creator of the show, he also plays all roles convincingly. The concerned mother, the wayward teenager, the bad influence and one of the policemen who is involved in raiding the party. All sides are well represented here and although it is very much Johnno's story, it seems as though everybody gets to have their say.

Although not strictly a political piece there is a recurring theme centred around The Criminal Justice and Public Order Act of 1994, outlawing "any gathering characterised by the emission of a succession of repetitive beats".

Beats has a limited run at the Pleasance Courtyard until August 11th. Ticket information here.

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