Scarborough

Published Monday 20 August 2007 at 09:55 by William McEvoy

This scorching two-hander is a little gem of a play, alive with forbidden desire and erotic tension.

Underpinned by two blistering performances from Holly Atkins and James Baxter, it takes place over one weekend in the relationship between a 15 year old schoolboy and his 29 year old PE teacher.

Much of the power of the show comes from the setting, a beautifully detailed recreation of a grotty Scarborough hotel into which the spectators are crammed in claustrophobic complicity with the illicit affair. This is a visceral, in-yer-face theatre experience. Atkins is marvellous as Lauren, her mascara running down her face, cramming herself into a pair of jeans two sizes too small.

Baxter too is a revelation as Daz, fluent, articulate, accidently hurtful and still in many ways a child. Both do full justice to Fiona Evans’ tough, concise writing, brilliantly capturing the shifting emotions underlying the characters’ relationship.

As the actors move about the room, you see them up close and personal. At times you’re virtually eyeballing them; if you look around, you notice the precision of Jo Newberry’s design, its carefully calculated tackiness and datedness. An unmissable piece of theatre.