Review: Halfway Home, theSpace on the Mile

I’m not sure if it’s just coincidence or if this is a common theme playing out with Scottish writers right now, but the two very Scottish plays I saw during my Edinburgh visit both revolved around newly released prisoners, addiction, and the turmoil thrust upon a family torn apart due to their convictions. 

In Halfway Home it’s brother Davie (writer Alexander Artis) who has just been granted his freedom. With both parents and former partner refusing to forgive him, he finds himself having to call upon his brother Freddie (Connor Fallon) for a place to stay until he finds his feet again. Just to complicate things that little further, Freddie now lives with girlfriend Laura (Abbie Robertson), although their relationship is clearly not running as smoothly as they’d like.

Halfway Home is very much a gritty drama of family ties and what happens when siblings struggle to communicate with one another. The two brothers and one girlfriend have their own issues to cope with, but all do so in private. For Freddie, it’s balancing looking after his brother with being there for his girlfriend, while Davie is seeking that second chance in his life, both with just starting again and maybe making amends to those he has hurt with his former addiction. Then there’s Laura, a nurse, clearly struggling and yet finding her partner’s focus elsewhere, leaving her nowhere to turn for the support she clearly craves. All three actors do well in giving some flesh to their characters, leaving you feeling sorry that all are suffering in their own silences.

We see the trio moving around each other, occasionally overlapping, but never being able to really talk about the things that probably need to be said. And through it all, Davie’s past hangs over them all, creating more conflict that they cannot resolve. The problem is Halfway Home just fails to really ignite or go anywhere different to many other plays. Things only really come alive when each is on stage alone, talking to an unseen party; a counsellor for Laura, an interviewer for Freddie, while Davie’s is an unseen AA support group. Here we get to understand what makes them tick as individuals and what it is each needs from the others but never gets. These scenes give the much-needed depth that is lacking elsewhere, sitting centrally to everything, and the play would benefit greatly by having more of them.

It is good to see a full set though, and the living room of Freddie and Laura’s home is portrayed with attention to detail that is often lacking on a fringe stage. With some simple lighting changes, the three characters are then transported to their one-on-one sessions as they sit forward of the set, isolated in their own little spotlight to show how alone each really is. 

Ultimately, Halfway Home fails to say anything that is new. When the themes are so universal they need to be addressed in a stronger way; the one-on-one sessions at least give a hint that there could be more to come, but for now, it just feels a play that’s too easy to lose amongst so many others trying to tell a similar story.

Written by Alexander Artis
Directed by Chelsea Grace
Produced by Deliverance Theatre

Halfway Home has completed its run at EdFringe