one4review | On 08, Aug 2023

The Roundabout Theatre at Summerhall was jam packed for this play, and rightly so. For 70 minutes we were treated to a guerilla version of internet dating – definitely not for the faint hearted. Miriam Battaye’s tale of cyber romance in the 21^st century had the crowd laughing one minute and gripped the next as they watched Letty Thomas and Archie Backhouse circle each other and try to move forward in the relationship game. 

Letty’s character’s adversarial stance at the start of the play was offset by Archie’s character’s laissez faire attitude and it was difficult to see how they could possibly consider being a couple. The performance of both actors was such that the whole audience rooted for them as they won each other (and the audience) round and found a way to try to make their relationship work by opening up to each other and being honest. The rotating stage added to the sense of emotional disruption as the characters moved towards and away from each other, frequently during the play. The play had a few twists and turns along the way and a cliffhanger ending, which kept the audience on the edge of their seats.  Excellent acting and a sharp and witty script makes this a must see performance at Summerhall. 

****

Reviewed by Rona 

ROUNDABOUT@Summerhall 

5.20pm (1hr 10)

Until 27^th August (Not 8^th, 15^th or 22^nd)