Presented by Daniel Cuckow and Abigail Sinclair

Review by Laurie Kimmett

Playground 2 at Zoo Playground

We’ve all been to our fair share of service stations. Disappointing coffee, sticky floors, and somehow both sticky and disappointing sandwiches come to the forefront of the mind. Well, put all of that out of your mind when you go to see ‘Motorway’ – because there is no way to describe the experience that is awaiting you in ZOO Playground. 

The play’s Lynchian influence is immediately apparent from the liminality of the setting and complex, ever shifting relationship between our two protagonists, best friends Lucy and Maeve. It never quite feels as though you can fully grasp the tectonic plates that make up their friendship before another earthquake shifts everything out of place again. It sounds as though it could be disorientating and disjointed, but the skills of performers Abigail Sinclair and Samantha Begeman serve as the much needed grounding element. Their chemistry is palpable. Sinclair gives a compellingly camp performance as Lucy without straying into triteness, while Begeman has a beautiful subtlety to her as an actor – something that serves her performance as Maeve well. It’s because of the talent of the actors that a switch in perspectives halfway through comes as a beautiful twist in the story.

But what exactly is this story? A good question. A dreamlike romp involving aliens, a mysterious yet charming doctor, horror, comedy, tapdancing and…piss? For the last few years, absurdist theatre has been slowly but surely watered down as a label, meaning that it now encompasses a huge range of intensity. You can consider ‘Motorway’ a revival of the true sense of absurdist theatre. Laugh-out-loud, terrifying, heartbreaking, and off-kilter: it isn’t for everyone, but it knows its audience and serves them well.

Practically, it’s a tight and well-constructed show, especially considering this was the first performance they’ve done in Edinburgh. The fight choreo is slick and believable (a rarity during Fringe season), and the practical effects land with resounding impact. A slightly over-ambitious tech plan may be the only sticking point, with occasionally unnecessary forays into voiceover and light effect. However, this is a show built for an audience who craves something completely and totally unique – and they’ll find it here.

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