Mysterious Skin

Having been warned by them in their interview with Fresh Air that the denoument of this play was shocking and under wraps, it was deservedly so. This is a breathtaking and ultimately tear-inducing piece of theatre which, although it sometimes drags due to the gravitas of its subject, hits home as to what it is to be young and hopeless.

Two separate strands on stage, one of two young loners, the other of a lad who plays the field and becomes involved in some seedy underground world to earn money, eventually meet; in the best possible way, it is like an episode of a soap opera in which the two strands, which have developed over time, meet and bring sparks to the stage. The cast act terrifically, and provide a great advertisement for the novel on which the play is based; as it reads on the flyer, it pulls no punches. Rick Kissack, whose New York accent was honed in America itself during his training, is brilliant; anxious, nervous then cathartic, his versatility is great to watch and he is certainly going places very soon, in a just world. Dan Worters also has good calibre at National, and shows his chops as the nerdish chap chasing his past (and, it is revealed, Kissack’s character’s own); this is a piece about recapturing the past, with damning consequences.

The two ladies, though afflicted by Fringe flu and fatigue which provides a crack to their voices, add pathos to their own sublime roles; contortions of face, use of space and consistency of accent are all present and correct. Leanne Rowe’s doe-like eyes and pained expression of a lonely girl are indicative of the state of mind that dogs the piece, and helps make this an astonishing production from a very young cast.

Mysterious Skin
Gilded Balloon Teviot
13:00, 4-30 Aug