Edinburgh Fringe 2025
Low Down
The autobiographical tale of Adam Linn, a twelve-year-old boy gradually going blind in Boston in 1984.
Review
Adolescence is never an easy journey for anyone. Bostonian Adam Linn got hit with an extra challenge right when his was starting when the purple swirls he saw in the front of his eyes began to worsen. Despite the efforts of medical specialists and various surgeries, Linn was losing his sight, slowly but certainly. By 1984, he had left his all-white Catholic school (“No more nuns!”) and entered a new world on the pejorative “short bus” to a special education classroom at the state school. Sped Kid, the play’s title, signals this transition, but Linn’s story is far from a tale of hardship; rather, it is a quietly compelling account of adolescence, adaptation and unexpected connections.
The journey to his new school is vivid in small, telling moments. On the SPED bus, driven by the overly protective Rudy, we hear (in a slightly overlong section) how Linn meets Donnie, Van, Keisha, and Jamal. Their interactions, at first distant, grow to be funny and warm. When the bus arrives at the state school, however, Linn notices the other students “looked at us like animals in the zoo”. Even with diminished sight, it is impossible for Linn not to notice the difference and isolation he and his new friends are made to feel.
Throughout the play Linn doesn’t speak to the audience as narrator; he reenacts conversations with his mother, his doctor, his friends, and school officials, among others. These recaptured moments reveal his gradual adaptation to blindness via wry, keen observations. Humor and reflection drive the story, though at times the dialogue borders on the banal. Even so, lines like “I’d rather be bullied than be a ghost” hit with piercing clarity. There is no self-pity here: only intelligence, courage and honesty.
Padraic Lillis directs the production with assured care, keeping Linn at a steady pace as he moves confidently around the small playing area. The minimal staging (a chair) focuses attention on the storytelling, while lighting and sound (lots of fantastic ‘80s hits get play) subtly guide shifts in mood and perspective.
Sped Kid balances warmth with a clear-eyed view of adolescence and marginalization. The SPED classroom and bus are spaces of connection, humor, and creativity, not pity and misery. Though some dialogue occasionally feels repetitive, the values at the story’s core — friendship, resilience, adapting to unexpected challenges — remain moving and relatable to anyone who’s been through puberty.
By proudly reclaiming the label “Sped Kid,” Linn transforms what could have been limiting into a story of insight and humanity. The result is this sweet coming-of-age story, one that lingers as a thoughtful, gentle exploration of loss, adaptation, and belonging.
