Issy Cory
We can all remember that one teacher at school that we didn’t quite get on with. For Scott and Alec, that was Ms Cruikshank (or Cruel-shank as Alec calls her), and now they’re trapped in her classroom at their ten-year school reunion because of a faulty door handle.
Post- falling out over a girl, Alec and Scott are catching up after six years of not knowing one another. They share what they’ve been up to since leaving school, and reminisce about old times. However, as the urge to escape becomes too much, they turn to drastic measures to escape their old classroom.
Jordan Monks and Will Evans are the writers and performers of this production, which means they have a lovely chemistry onstage. They present authentic portrayals of school friends, especially ones who used to be closer-than-close, and are now anything but.
The concept is fun, as the high school reunion set-up provides fertile ground for secrets to come out and old arguments to resurface. There’s also the pressure of proving yourself to those you used to study with, which I’m sure many people in the audience are sympathetic about.
As conflict goes, this felt quite lacklustre. The stakes simply weren’t high enough to have any kind of pay-off, as the main point of contention is that Alec is still hung up on the fact that Scott stole his high school girlfriend, even though she rejected Alec. It doesn’t feel a plausible enough reason for them to fall out, yet so much of the plot relies on this dispute.
I was expecting something far more twisted and dark to take place within the four walls of this classroom. The actual denouement feels far too cliché to carry any shock or drama. The forgotten life of their hated teacher is no big reveal, rather just a sad discovery.
There are, however, some lighthearted, and funny moments that bring us out of the paler parts of this tale. There, we see Monks and Evans display some serious potential, otherwise unseen in the remainder of Note of Concern.
Recommended Drink: A lukewarm can of Tennents.
You can catch Note of Concern at Space 2 at theSpace on the Mile from Aug 16 at 18:30. Tickets are available through the EdFringe Online Box Office.
Jake Mace
Lamesha Ruddock
Jasmine Silk
