Written by Nathan Scott-Dunn

Directed by Edoardo Berto

Review by Laurie Kemmett

A Play, A Pie, and a Pint

Walking into Oran Mor to see Un-Expecting, the set can only be described as unassuming. On a thrust style stage there is strung up two white sheets, an On Air sign, and two rods. The purpose of all these things is made clear quickly, transforming simple items into a whole world of light, colour, and shadow. 

This is the world of Jess and Scott, two young people on separate nights out in Edinburgh. They meet in a club. They get to talking. They go home together. The story ends for them. Except it doesn’t, because a while later Jess makes a discovery: she’s pregnant, and one-night hookup Scott is the father. The On Air sign is them recording a video for their child, explaining how they came to be. 

That isn’t the only secret hiding in Heather Grace Currie’s set. The two sheets are used to create a sort of shadow theatre, with the actors disappearing into silhouettes of themselves. The two rods of light are a stroke of genius, becoming the metaphorical prison bars of two positive lines on Jess’s pregnancy test.

The real treat of the show is the acting. Cindy Awor as Jess and Cristian Ortega as Scott carry the story through all its triumphs and low moments. Ortega’s sense of humour and comedic timing are flawless – helped along by some very shrewd jokes in Nathan Scott-Dunn’s script. Awor delivers a monologue that is a shining example of how to showcase a character’s journey as Jess justifies to the audience – and herself – her reasons for keeping the baby. Both Ortega and Awor are gifted performers. What could have been relatively easy comedic roles are transformed, as the audience are treated to glimpses of Scott’s fears stemming from his own father, and Jess’s seething rage at the injustice of pregnancy. They both clearly differentiate between their younger, naive selves and the older versions who record the video.

If there were any criticisms to be made, they would be about the beginning. The actors take a second to settle into the lyrical style of storytelling, meaning that some of the poetry gets a little lost. This affects how they deliver lines to begin with: what should be a snappy, electric bout of finishing one another’s sentences becomes jolty. However, once the energy begins to climb, the chemistry does as well. The actors almost set the front row of the audience on fire as sparks flew between them – and the audience come away feeling lighter too.

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