ED2015 4/5 Reviews ED2015 Theatre Reviews

Gods Are Fallen And All Safety Gone (Greyscale)

By Rebecca Jacobson | Published on Friday 28 August 2015

Two men are on stage. They’re playing mother and daughter. That, simply, is the gimmick of Selma Dimitrijevic’s play. But what’s so inspired about ‘Gods Are Fallen’ is that, while Sean Campion and Scott Turnbull are indeed playing women, they’re not performing gender. Which isn’t to say gender entirely falls away, but as the two cycle through conversation – about the weather, Aunt Marie, the daughter’s boyfriend – we can’t chalk any of it up to “womanhood” (which in turn says a lot about our quickness to read the male body as neutral, but that’s a conversation for another time). What remains is a wonderfully layered, beautifully performed work that runs through a Rolodex of emotions – aggravation, love, regret, worry, fear – with piercing intelligence.

Summerhall, until 29 Aug.
tw rating 4/5 | [Rebecca Jacobson]