The Space in Between

Love, death and tangled philosophy are topics that have dominated innumerable late-night discussions between merry students in boho bars. Still, the cast of The Space In Between manage to discuss these topics with fresh charm and wit.

The play recounts the lives of three staff members of staff in a jazz bar, detailing everything from their sick grandmothers to what they had for brunch, always returning to their pensive opinions of the world. To avoid any complaints about the stage design, the play is performed on location, in Edinburgh's own bona fide jazz bar. Sam Cable added to the atmosphere with his ably-played jinking jazz piano, as did the full bar available to the audience.

This realism and proximity to the proceedings helps the audience identify with the characters, even if the philosophies they suggest are nothing new. There are no confusing sub-plots and the characters' debates manage to provoke some personal questions which keep the audience engaged throughout.

The Space In Between is brought down by a lack of variety in the script, and the actors' performances which did not lift themselves above capable. But it remains an innoffensive representation of youthful thinking set in a cosy bar, and displays the ways that one's professional and personal lives can sometimes become all-to-similar.