Written by  Stephen Christopher & Graeme Smith

Directed by Jordan Blackwood

Review by Marina Funcasta

Tickets from £12.00

For all the hullabaloo that transcends between theatre and football as arguments erupt over funding and political ‘preferential treatment’ – each receives in the eyes of the other; the pair find themselves on the same side. Whether it’s the National Theatre of Scotland’s sensational Moorcroft, humour and rage in Smile: The Jim McLean Story, and right up to the Traverse Theatre’s most recent Same Team, the pair are inseparable. Is it the high-tension drama which ties them together? Or is it that deep down, no matter what differences the mediums share, we all love a good story to rally behind?

Closing out the Traverse’s run of the Spring Play, Pie, and a Pint season, Stephen Christopher and Graeme Smith’s The Scaff takes school-ground antics to nostalgic levels of comedy and drama as one act of revenge leads to the fracture of one group of pals, which ripples right through the school. A cast of four, with competent direction from Blackwood, led to a strong closer for the Edinburgh run of the season and more than enough to whet the appetite of those who want a bit more – all it takes is that short train ride to the West Coast for more.

Christopher and Smith capture the arena of Scottish men’s emotions in the heightened state of teenage drama. Think of the football pitch as Scotland’s answer to the Colosseum: helmets, armour, and gladius replaced with shell suits, studded footwear, and crumpled sports drinks. It’s where those sentiments so often bottled up can erupt – often with aggressive consequences. It’s what happens with the group of lads, and pals who take the calling of one member (Liam) as a ‘scaff’ to heart. Encouraged to get his own back by pals Frankie and Jamie, Liam takes it out on the school golden-child footballer Coco with a nasty tackle. And when the damage is done, it seems Liam’s long-time pals are suddenly not on his side.

It’s not been an easy ride for Liam, dressed in a jacket too small for him, and trousers too big, a simple but familiar reminder of the financial state of many families over Scotland who can’t afford the best of new tracksuits. Benjamin Keachie locates a fantastically genuine teen angst of vulnerability and petty vindictiveness. They work well with the entire cast, though Keachie and Bailey Newsome have a stronger back-and-forth, mainly down to the script’s structure. Newsome brings some terrific bravado to mask those boyish insecurities.

Nostalgia is the solid thread throughout The Scaff, and Blackwood’s direction of the stage nails the late nineties ‘fuzz’ all around. Even the way the narrative moves forward, overheard in corner shops or whispers in Christopher and Smith’s language, rather than texts and group chats, all come together to sell the timeframe. There’s even a concerning amount of warmth which comes from the mentions of products and former supermarkets like ‘Safeway’.

There’s a reliance and lean-in on the more teenage gags and humour, with shortcuts in the script to fit the timeframe. Occasionally some of the humour drags for a spell; the otherwise substantial performance from Craig McLean brought down a bit by drawing the short straw of humour, particularly in-jokes relating to ‘wanking’ and porn, but still turns in a persuasive performance. It’s less an issue for Stuart Edgar, who gets the biggest laughs and helps maintain pacing and additional elements for the production which at times could tip into over-crowded.

Packed up a little tightly, it’s still a show that thunders with energy and rhythm: commanding a firm understanding of the politics of the playground (and of the pitch), there’s plenty of room for the lads (and the show) to grow, but there’s no doubt Christopher and Smith has those scraped knees which make The Scaff a success in the growing ‘league’ of football theatre.

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