And No More Shall We Part

From July 2012

I love Edinburgh at this time of year with that sense of anticipation of what is to come over the next five weeks. I love seeing the posters for Fringe shows going up all over the place. I love the smell of greasepaint as it combines with the smell of beefburgers & cheap lager. I even love the way that hot tap on the last sink in the gents' loo at the Traverse has a tap which exudes water at extreme high pressure. I've said it many times before but it's worth repeating: if it wasn't for the Festival summer in Edinburgh would be pants.

And so with slightly damp trousers I took my seat last night for And No More Shall We Part, a two hander exquisitely written by Tom Holloway. What starts off as a seemingly inconsequential series of reminisces between a husband & wife turns into something darker and achingly sad.

Both Dearbhla Molloy and Bill Paterson are excellent. But Paterson's performance in particular is stellar. His timing, the pauses between words, the ever-so-slight facial movements ... I'd forgotten what a truly great actor he is.

This is a play for anyone who has ever loved and for anyone who has ever lost. A play for everyone.

And No More Shall We Part, Traverse Theatre, until 26th August