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★★★
Social anxiety is the theme of Letty Celotti and Ryan Moohan’s short play ‘Two Friends and Social Anxiety’, which is currently being performed at theSpace on the Mile as part of the Edinburgh Fringe. Rather than focusing on the difficulties of daily life, the writing takes a totally different stance, instead choosing to make light humour of the realities of what it means to be overwhelmed by social situations and prefer your own company. Covering experiences such as going to the shops, meeting colleagues for a drink and attending parties, the 45-minute play focuses on two individuals who experience social anxiety and have formed a close friendship in their solitude.
Navigating the script
‘Two Friends and Social Anxiety’ is intimately staged, with the two friends sitting together in various formations for the duration of the show. Social interactions are recreated in front of the audience, as the characters draw on the experiences which are affecting their mental health. Even though Letty and Ryan are playing roles, it all feels very personal, as if the performers understand the words that they are saying on a deeper level. They also have a brilliant connection on stage, with the friendship feeling really genuine.
Whilst the level of thought that has gone into the writing is admirable, the direction of the script is somewhat confusing, transitioning between the reenactment of conversations with loved ones and a series of transparent conversations about how they both really are, seated together on chairs. It affects the continuity of the narrative, making it a little difficult to work out what is happening where and when. In terms of overall impact, there are lulls in the flow of the performance as a result, leaving the production feeling segmented.
Too much attention to detail
‘Two Friends and Social Anxiety’ definitely provides a warm and relatable view into what living with social anxiety is like, but as a play it feels too detail focused and an excessive amount of the running time is allocated to pondering about what to say in a WhatsApp group chat. Whilst I have no doubt that this is a very realistic interpretation of what sending messages is like for a socially anxious person, in terms of a piece of theatre, the script would be better off focusing on this slightly less and instead including a wider variety of anecdotes about life on a daily basis.
A light-hearted account of living with social anxiety
Refreshing and transparent in its current form, ‘Two Friends and Social Anxiety’ has plenty of promise, but the structure needs a little rethink to make the material work as a cohesive piece of theatre. The show is based at theSpace on the Mile – Space 2 until Saturday 10th August, with the final performance starting at 12:10pm in the Fringe venue at the Radisson Blu. Last minute tickets can be purchased via the Edinburgh Fringe website.
Thanks for reading my blog today.
Love Kat xxxx
*My ticket for ‘Two Friends and Social Anxiety’ was gifted in exchange for an unbiased review.
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