Anna Burnside reviews a 'substantial' production.
A middle-aged creative writing professor at an Ivy League university introduces herself, a self-deprecating person with a serious intellect. She’s single, self-contained, “a whore for first editions”. Her mother died of stomach cancer.
An unusually attentive student enrols in one of her classes. Then pitches up at her office without an appointment. He doesn’t do email booking systems, or like elaborate artisan coffee, or wear enough warm clothing for the climate. He’s writing a novel.
Two unlikely outsiders have found each other.
Do they fall in love? In a way, although this is not a gender swap Blackbird, a May-September romance, or any kind of Me-Too story. Instead, she asks him to do something much bigger than take his clothes off in the same room.
Adam Rapp’s masterful writing, so sharp and nuanced, is lovingly treated by the cast. Young Eric Sirakian is wonderful as the intense young man who describes himself “as sexual as a parking meter”.
Madeleine Potter is note perfect as the spiky professor, alone in her 50s because she could never find someone who she wanted to read with. Her performance is a female counterpart to Paul Giamatti’s wonderfully irascible teacher in The Holdovers.
Although one of the protagonists is in his 20s, this is a grown-up play about the really sticky stuff of life, handled with just the right mix of levity and sensitivity. It’s substantial without every feeling heavy. Beside it, many of Edinburgh’s other offerings look puerile and thin.
The Sound Inside performs at the Traverse Theatre until August 25, 2024. For specific performance times, check the theatre's website.
Photo by Mihaela Bodlovic.
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