Virgins

John Retallack
Company of Angels
Assembly Rooms

There is a whole complex of themes running through this apparently simple domestic drama. In a family with two children, a boy of seventeen and a girl of fifteen, the kids are just discovering sex. The girl takes a romantic but sensible attitude; the boy plays the field. The mother goes out to work, the father stays at home and looks after the children and the house.

The play touches on the respective roles of fathers and mothers, drink and drugs, adolescent sex, sexually transmitted infections, the relationship between the generations, growing up, relations between the generations, friendship - a whole pot pouri of 21st century (indeed eternal) problems, but it does so without any attempt to preach or even provide solutions apart from the need for trust. The complexities of familial relationships are well drawn, as are the characters. What at first appear to be almost stereotypes gradually deepen and whole minefields are revealed.

Like many other shows this Fringe, there is an element of multi-genre work here. At points between the scenes there are short dances which further reveal and deepen the characters' feelings and relationships, adding an extra level to the already complex piece.

Reviewer: Peter Lathan

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