Eve Miller
Two girls work in a motorway service station. They pour coffee, play pretend, and – encounter extraterrestrials? An absurdist dark comedy thriller exploring female friendship and the effects of suburban isolation, Motorway is quintessentially Fringe, and one of the most interesting shows you are likely to see this summer.
Maeve and Lucy are childhood best friends that have the kind of bond that can only be forged in the flames of pissing yourself at nursery. They work the night shift in the service station opposite the military base, amusing themselves and each other with outrageous role play, question games, and watching the cars rush past them. But after an unexplained light shines above the military base, things start getting strange. The coffee cups keep multiplying, Maeve is acting strangely, and a mysterious doctor takes an interest in the girls. But is this a bad trip, psychosis, an encounter of the third kind, or something even less likely: real?
All performers attack the material with flair and gusto, impishly unpicking the dense and seemingly nonsensical text. Deftly led by Abigail Sinclair and Samantha Begeman, the central performances in this play are shimmering visions of young adulthood, by turns hallucinatory and grounded, always dripping with chemistry. They duck, weave, and pull the rug from under each other and the audience with such frequency that the easiest way to guess what will happen next is to think of the impossible. Begeman’s performance is particularly impressive in its subtlety, providing a much needed connection to reality, even while tackling some of the most absurd sections of the piece. She is eminently watchable and natural on stage, and surely a rising star to keep an eye on.
The design is interesting and unsettling. The girls’ ugly service station uniforms and styrofoam coffee cups are at odds with the fantastical lighting and sound design in a profoundly eerie manner, and the special effects and fight choreography (which I won’t spoil!) are perfectly pitched. There were some moments of uncertainty and awkwardness between scenes, particularly where characters entered and exited the service station, but once they got going again they brought such uncanny charm that it was easy to forgive them and sink back into the weirdness.
This is not a play that I would take my gran to. This is not a play that will have broad appeal. But it is a play that is striking in its specificity and has a vested interest in pushing the boundaries of the theatrical form. It is a play for the adventurous, the misfits, the theatre nerds. It is not a perfect piece, but it is an exciting one, and that, to me, is what Fringe is all about.
Motorway is a Lynchian fever-dream that keeps the audience guessing from the moment that the lights come up, leaving us with many more questions than answers. Mellifluous, chimerical, and utterly charming, Motorway is a feast for the senses; just let it wash over you.
Drink recommendation: A strong cup of sugary black coffee with a healthy glob of saliva.
You can catch Motorway at Playground 2 at ZOO Playground from 7-30 Aug (not 17) at 16:50 (60 mins). Tickets are available through the EdFringe Online Box Office.
Isobel Jacob
Salvador Kent
