Review: EDINBURGH 2024: PLAYFIGHT, Roundabout @ Summerhall

When you're young, you see the world through different eyes. That's why, in Julia Grogan's Playfight, the tree at which three long-time school friends, Keira, Zainab and Lucy, meet is magic. It's also why, at just fifteen, Keira sees romance, not alarm bells, when losing her virginity to an older boyfriend. And it's why they're all convinced that they'll get out of this town as quickly as they possibly can.

As they get older, things change.

They're growing, but their world is getting smaller. And so it feels as though they no longer have space for each other. Innocence and joy are replaced by shame, longing and guilt - feelings that they aren't able to shed as they move into adulthood. Through it all, however, Tree remains magic. It remains theirs.

We watch the girls grow in a series of episodic vignettes, which zoom in on specific, crucial moments in their lives over the course of ten years: getting their exam results, falling in love, and coping with loss. These moments are all set around Tree (brought to life charmingly through a hot-pink ladder and a floor of wood chips), which is so crucial to the story that it becomes a character within itself. While there's a lot to enjoy about Playfight, it can sometimes feel like scenes are cut a little too short - there's hardly enough time to respond to some of the more sincere moments before the next scene is in full swing.

Aided by naturalistic writing, Sophie Cox, Nina Cassells, and Lucy Mangan offer strong performances, sharing a chemistry that feels like you're actually watching friends on stage. Though they fall into certain archetypes in terms of both casting and characterisation, the performers are compelling in every sense of the word.

Furthermore, there are some genuinely beautiful moments in Grogan's script - with a confrontation between two characters, discussing their conflicting accepted truths about something that transpired on stage, being a key example of this.

Julia Grogan's Playfight is powerful, punchy and evocative, effortlessly conjuring up reminders of girlhood and the fears of leaving that behind.

Playfight is at the Roundabout @ Summerhall as part of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival until August 26.

Photo Credit: Mihaela Bodlovic

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