Jake Mace
Sometimes you walk into a piece thinking you might have seen this set-up before – three university roommates living it large on nights out, coffee dates, and wine in the park. Thankfully, Three Bed (No Living Room) offers up a charming remix of the student sitcom-drama with a cast of loveable, believable characters and a clear commitment to distinctively Queer storytelling.
Edinburgh flatmates Beth, Cynthia, and Ezra are getting ready for the city’s Pride festivities, It’s Beth’s first year as an out Queer person – she’s keen to make the right impression, and maybe, just maybe find a girl to take back home with her for the evening. When dawn breaks and Ally, a Queer-identifying man, wakes up in Beth’s bed, where does it leave her newfound identity? Can she still go for that coffee date with the cute barista, or will Ally’s keenness to impress her get in the way?
This five-hander brings twists and turns at each step. The writing flatters the cast, who have taken each of these roles into their own and created distinct personalities. Cynthia is well-versed in the city’s Queer scene, while Ezra is completely comfortable with her bisexual identity, and despite these traits defining the course of events it does not define their characters. Each of them is a three-dimensional human with facets, faults, vices – we see the course of their Queerness traced within their relationships to each other as the boundaries of their friendships are tested.
All of this is done with a light touch, and is testimony to Laldie Theatre’s authentic voice shining through. Light quips about Queer culture meet weighty topics like consent in polyamorous relationships, how far lies and concealing the truth can take us away from our true selves, transitioning a friendship into a relationship without breaking each other’s trust. These concepts are weaved into the story naturally and create a whole, engrossing narrative.
The show, however, spends a fair bit of time at the end wrapping up the piece into neat ends. There was a moment where two characters embrace each other and the lights go down, and I almost applauded, because it was such a revelatory, gorgeous moment performed with care and ambiance. This felt like the natural end to the piece rather than the following scene, as it’s always good for the audience to walk away imagining what might have happened to these characters, which Laldie spend so much effort getting us properly invested into.
The performances are tight, crisp, palpable. Esther Carr’s Beth carefully treads the line of emerging Queer woman and emboldened, passionate, moralistic but naive student. Sami Mazic’s wonderfully believable performance as Cynthia delivers the key moments of this piece, and a passionate speech about the politics of Pride is a high note of the show. Max Burns’ Ally and Holly Marie Campbell’s barista play the supporting cast impressively, able to reveal their characters’ many facets in their short times on stage. Yasmin Parekh’s Ezra steals the scene the minute she’s on stage, with snappy wit and giggly charm.
The story is matched with a humming soundtrack that knits Queer tunes both diegetically and in rising interludes to help create a clean and balanced story arc, as well as a neat atmosphere in the crowd. The set is a bit heavy handed, leaving little room on the stage, and some moments feel clunky.
It’s not clear why we need a card reader prop in the coffee shop, or to watch the exchange of the barista giving Beth her change with literal cash. These moments could be tightened up – while they are believable it takes time away from the story, which is the driving force of this lovely piece.
Raucous, fun, and totally consuming, this piece will leave your heart full.
Recommended Drink: Grab a bottle of wine and head down for a picnic date at the Meadows!
Catch Three Bed (No Living Room) until August 10th at theSpace on the Mile – Space 1, at 14:15. Tickets are available through the EdFringe Box Office.
Phoebe Bakker
