Edinburgh Fringe Festival
EICC – until 31 August. Reviewed by Jo Gordon
5*****
In Your Face Theatre
As you enter the venue, neon wristbands issued and hardcore dance music, laser lights and Glosticks reminiscent of an 80s underground rave you can feel the palpable excitement of the audience.
From the word go you are immersed into a world of drug fuelled chaos, heartbreak and the hard hitting reality of this group of friends, lovers and dealers. Going quickly from scene to gritty scene, portraying the downward sliding lives of Renton (Gavin Ross) and his friends Begbie (Chris Dennis), Tommy (Greg Esplin), Sickboy (Michael Lockerbie) and Alison (Erin Marshall).
We see the horrific death of a baby, domestic violence, HIV, and for me one of the best scenes, how a junkie hating man is eventually gripped by Heroin and dies alone on a filthy mattress. There are lighter more amusing moments involving vaporub, stomach churning ones inside the dirtiest toilet in Scotland and numerous members of the audience having various bodily parts thrust upon them, soiled sheets and condoms of dodgy usage…..BE WARNED its immersive theatre to the max!
A brilliant production that I would see time and time again leaving with the advice “choose life” embedded into my psyche.
I give it a full 5 stars ,