"It may only last 45 minutes but ‘Yokes Night’ is a fine play, performed to perfection by playwright Scott Lyons and Zoe Forrester…Harry is a born loser, though at least he has a job. Nirvana for him is Yokes Night, the day last year when Irish law changed to make all drugs legal, even hard ones…The ensuing scenes come straight from a horror movie but are evoked well in Jesse Briton and Dimitris Chimonas’s simple production that races along to a satisfyingly enigmatic conclusion."
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"This fast-paced, poetic production buzzes with the energy of that crazy night and the younger generation’s frustration at the actions (or inactions) of the Irish government and adherence to outdated notions. Great, engaging performances are helped by a simple but effective set...The denouement is perhaps a bit obvious and the game-show trial is a little overused device, but it remains a show to rave over."
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"This riveting two-hander turns into a darkly innocent love story with a couple of surprises along the way…A lot of themes are packed into this new play by Scott Lyons...There’s a whole load of physical stuff going on too, thanks to director Dimitris Chimonas’ finger-on-the-pulse direction. Like 'Midsummer' on MDMA, Lyons and Zoe Forrester, as the strangely likeable couple, generate a chemistry that gets sparks flying throughout in a brace of winning performances."
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"Both actors go at this with the vitality of the young and it is not the worse for it. They have the characters in their heads and what we see onstage is both believable and visceral…The ending is particularly brutal and very surprising…It saves a script that I felt at times was a little lacking in depth but the overall punch it packs makes up for that – perhaps it needs a little more in the rehearsal room."
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"Lyons gives such a strong, enthusiastic and easy performance that we utterly sympathize with his desire to find a soulmate…The energy he brings holds together this extremely demanding and at times incredibly dark tale. The talented Zoe Forrester’s Saoirse takes us in so completely with her naturalistic charm that we simply see her as the harmed creature she portrays…Raw, fresh, challenging and beautiful to behold."
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"There's a lot of superb writing here…Lyons and Forrester as Harry and Saoirse have real chemistry, and some hilarious and touching scenes...But underneath there is a sense of little more than an Adam and Eve for the post-rave generation, and a clichéd warning to avoid the temptress. The volte face feels a little forced and paints the duo's respective denouements into a corner. Nonetheless, 'Yokes Night' is a seething play with two superbly judged performances, and a lot of style."
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