Once more unto the breach… I wonder if the Dundee Repertory Theatre offers a loyalty scheme?

Two nights at the theatre in one week, two young women from the eastern coast of Scotland telling their personal stories in ways that only they can. While And is intimate and minimalist, Ane City is loud and luscious. Though I wonder if both had attended each other’s performances if they might not have spotted a kinship.

Ane City is a coming of age story set against a backdrop of the hometown that protagonist Tay (Taylor Dyson) has so desperately tried to escape. Tay confronts her family, friends, and past - and a local taxi driver - through monologue, poetry, and song. With cameo appearances from poetic royalty and royal royalty.

Her feelings are complex, much like her Dundee home - simultaneously infamous for the depravation-driven high rates of teenage pregnancy and drug deaths, and yet appearing in Lonely Planet’s Best in Europe top 10 places to visit in 2018 with significant recent inward investment from the likes of the V&A and Eden Project. Seemingly contradictory sides of ane city.

Verdict?

Gloriously funny. Bluntly introspective. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

More info: Ane City by Elfie Picket Theatre