Edinburgh Fringe 2024
Low Down
Sam Drury’s debut Fringe play Blindsided is a tense, gripping seventy-five minute drama focusing on young solicitor-advocate Richard Lincoln’s attempt to deliver a fair murder trial for a defendant who is in mortal danger of becoming the next victim of mob-based vigilante justice.
Review
A dimly lit thrust stage reveals a young barrister working into the early hours of the morning, papers and other detritus strewn across the desk. He looks as though he hasn’t slept in days as he struggles to find a way to solve a problem with no apparent solution – a murder case he took on, with reluctance, that appears to to be heading for only one outcome.
His train of thought is somewhat noisily interrupted by the arrival of his sister, a refugee looking for a place to stay following her precipitous ejection from the family home by their strict parents. Cue a rather fractious familial exchange.
The opening dialogue in City of London School pupil Sam Drury’s debut Fringe play Blindsided sets the tone for what turns into a tense, gripping seventy-five minute drama focusing on young solicitor-advocate Richard Lincoln’s attempt to deliver a fair murder trial for a defendant who is in mortal danger of becoming the next victim of mob-based vigilante justice.
The story unfolds through a series of tightly scripted, well choreographed exchanges between police and defendant (with and without his hard working barrister present), defendant and barrister, barrister and pupil, a series of tense courtroom ensembles and more familial fractiousness.
The audience is inexorably drawn into the labyrinthine plot unfolding before them. It’s rather like gently peeling back the layers of an old onion, hoping against hope that you won’t find the kernel a rotting, odorous mess.
This is a deep and complex piece of theatre made all the more apposite following the recent tragic stabbings in Stockport, the subsequent vigilante-led rioting in a number of UK towns and the calls to ensure that justice continues to be delivered using the tried and tested rule of law.
Casting and direction in this ten-handed piece of theatre are absolutely spot on. Sam Drury, not content with creating a superbly structured and crafted script, also plays the lead as Richard Lincoln in a remarkable, bravura performance, showing gravitas, stage presence and a command of his character that would be the envy of many seasoned professional actors.
Complementing him was the excellent Abheer Kohli as defendant Joseph Kavalier, who brought real conviction to his character and raw, heartrending emotion in what was a gripping and unpredictable denouement.
Credit is also due to Yipeng Xu as Tully Simmonds, the wonderfully odious, arrogant, condescending and patronising prosecuting counsel, a performance delivered with conviction throughout without ever veering into caricature. And Lena Simpe-Asante brought some much needed objectivity and calmness to proceedings as John, Lincoln’s overworked and capable pupil.
Charlie Aldridge’s direction was spot on. He ensured the actors used every part of theSpace @ Niddry Street’s thrust stage to good effect and that the many scene changes were swift and didn’t break the flow. He even found the time to play the role of courtroom bailiff.
This is an extremely well constructed piece of theatre that would hold its own on any professional stage. The maturity of the script and the depth and breadth of the acting is a tribute to all those involved and I feel almost apologetic to use the term “youth theatre” to describe it. It is, but in name only. I heartily recommended you seek this out – and without delay as it finishes on Friday 16th.
