This U.S. premiere tragicomedy follows the lives of five nine-year-old boys spending their 1983 summer in Girvan, Scotland. One of the boys, David, reflects on their adventures and what it means to grow up.
See it if you'd like grown actors playing 9-12 yr olds who run, swing, argue. Gr opening song...downhill fr there. Tedious. Deus ex machina tragedy.
Don't see it if you want plot/depth. Narrator's conclusns superficial (memories fade, pain lessens). "Kids"/swings annoyed me. Male cast, dir, writer,prodr.
See it if Relevant poignant and powerful story. Memory play. Great writing/acting. Moving.
Don't see it if Themes of childhood trauma are too uncomfortable. Accents are hard to understand.
See it if Great performances and writing - well developed believable characters.
Don't see it if You have difficulty understanding accents.
See it if A story about growing up and lifes decisions. Fantastic acting and directing. This is a breath of fresh air for a play. Great writing.
Don't see it if Scottish accents are thick and difficult at times to pick up. Ending can be rough for some theater goers.
See it if Lively physicality of roughhousing boys around a swing set. Great natural acting & dialog. I fell in love w/these kids. Powerful message.
Don't see it if Dark ending followed by an appeal to the audience for sympathy. Strong accents.
See it if Entire cast gets into the age of the roles.Lighting very effective. Use of slow motion dead-on. A cappella (take them on tour) No weak links
Don't see it if The theater needs air conditioning. Not the most comfortable seats. It takes time to "get" the Scottish accents Many steps to the theater
See it if you’d enjoy awakening memories of childhood with on-target direction of believable characters, some accapella, meaningful lighting- see it!
Don't see it if you will be disappointed to miss every word due to accents and acoustics or you do not like the sadness that comes with decisions in life.
Also Don’t miss the wonderful chalk art scenes on the three walls that plac... Read more Read less
See it if you didn't get to Edinburgh. You'll feel like you're there watching this excellently directed show where men become believable 9 yr olds
Don't see it if childhood trauma is a triggering issue, heavy accents are annoying or plays that transition between past and present are confusing.
See it if Memory play about 9 year old boys in rural Scotland in 1983 and the incident that changed their lives forever. Well acted, lit & staged.
Don't see it if Heavy Scottish accents & poor acoustics sometimes make dialogue hard to understand. Horrific incident (not shown) involving child abuse.
Also Admirable effort; plot builds slowly toward climax; actors very athlet... Read more Read less
See it if You like shows which take a surprising turn. If you enjoy stories looking back at youthful experiences.
Don't see it if If you are sensitive to sad stories about children. If you do not enjoy youthful stories.
See it if You want to see an amazing cast give an awesome performance about friendship and coming of age and how one incident can change it all.
Don't see it if You don't want to see a really great performance and You want to miss out something very special. You don't like coming of age performances.
Also I was so impressed with the production. This is not a musical but ther... Read more Read less
See it if Elicits the innocent yet troublesome ways that boys play with each other. Toxic masculinity starts young with potentially risky effects.
Don't see it if Childhood trauma is triggering. The lead up to "what happened" went long, maybe trying too hard to pull heartstrings.
Also Diversity: 1 mixed person (Asian and White?) of a 5 person cast.... Read more Read less
See it if This import from Scotland was worth the wait! Bravo Bravo Bravo! Outstanding in all rating categories. Go see this real gem!
Don't see it if Very little if anything to criticize.
See it if You like stories that take you back in time and takes a look at childhood friendship and trauma.
Don't see it if You want a play that leaves you in a happy mood. This one is a real turn of events.
See it if you enjoy memory plays and want to see a show in which a young adult relives key moments from his youth.
Don't see it if you don't want to see adults playing pre-teens and/or you prefer plays that are more consistent. There is a major tone shift in this play.
See it if you would enjoy a well acted memory play of adolescent boys.
Don't see it if you would be triggered by childhood tragedies, or would be annoyed by inconsistent and incorrect Scottish accents.
See it if If rather thick Scottish accents aren't a barrier for you, the energy of the young cast will win you over.
Don't see it if If you have no patience for stylized, somewhat abstract motion oriented story telling, you might want to pass on this one.
See it if You are interested in Scottish plays about Kids who play on swings & what happens teasing takes place. Excellent cast, staging, agility👍🏼
Don't see it if If you have trouble with accents. I had no trouble understanding language. Not into dark theme
Also 90 minutes. No intermission or elevator. Need to walk up 2 flights, st... Read more Read less
See it if you enjoy an absorbing slice-of-life without much of a plot. The guys are attractive and convincing
Don't see it if you don't like adult actors playing children and prefer that the main (only) plot point was so obvious.
See it if Interesting play involving actors portraying themselves as young children from memory. The actors were all very physical.
Don't see it if Portraying their youth both the good and the bad times. Difficult subject matter might upset some theatregoers.
See it if You like tragicomedy, it was performed in slow motion for certain parts to achieve its comic effects. It was still a sad drama in the end...
Don't see it if You prefer something lighter or fluffy.
See it if This charming play about a pack of young boys growing up in rural Scotland is well crafted directed and acted.
Don't see it if If you gave a hard time with rather thick Scottish accents or childhood loss. Nothing a few episodes of Outlander won’t cure!
Also Loved the wee Helpful Scottish vocabulary list in the program!