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This 70-minute show from theatre company Real Circumstance presents itself as a love story. But it’s certainly not your average tale of boy meets girl.
It’s a surprise to dim-witted 32-year-old Tom when 15-year-old Cleo turns up at his boat one day – he’s never met her before, but she looks a lot like his lost teenage love, Grace. It doesn’t take long before we start guessing how they may be related. But why is Tom so slow on the uptake? And why is Cleo bordering on hysterical? And who is the older man following Cleo around?
In a slow flashback reveal we begin to discover what’s going on. But these questions, and others, are never fully answered in Dan Sherer’s occasionally poetic, but generally half-baked script.
For all the play’s flaws, though, there are three strong performances in this production. David Tarkenter does particularly well, as Cleo’s traumatised stalker John, to expose the character’s well-meaning yet tortured soul. It’s a nicely compact, pacey show, with a great creaky wooden set by James Cotterill which doubles as a boat and a subtle sound design from Steve Mayo which evokes the sleepy atmosphere and rolling waves of a seaside village.
By Daisy Bowie-Se