Sex, Drugs and…?
★★★☆☆ Energetic
theSpace on the Mile (Venue 39): Sat 2 – Fri 22 Aug 2025 (even dates only)
Review by Hugh Simpson
Sex, Drugs and…? – from Culture Riot! and New Celts at theSpace on the Mile on even dates throughout the Fringe – is a journey through the well-worn paths of rock dreams and heartbreaks.
That title is an apt one, combining a well-known concept with something unfinished. A reliance on the over-familiar, and an oddly uncompleted feel, are the things that stop this production from fully impressing, despite sharp writing and fine acting.
A scene from Sex Drugs and…?. Pic: Culture Riot!.
A successful Edinburgh punk band tell an interviewer about their struggles to get sober, find a name and navigate the problems of staying on speaking terms with your bandmates.
There is a great deal of energy in Samara Telford’s play; the personal relationships are believable, the emotion honest and the structure clever in the way it integrates various moments n the band’s foundation.
There are odd things about it, however. The story is decidedly lop-sided in its depiction of the band’s history. The whole way that the interview feels more like therapy session strikes a false note, as does the fact that a band could apparently become stadium-big while the events of their early years remain unknown.
cartoonish
There are also the problems that always crop up in portrayals of music (and of drug use); not everything rings true, and too much is cartoonish.
However, a great deal of it is believable, not least the swearing, which is not always easy to get right. Andrew Nimmo’s direction is fluid, making good use of an awkward venue, and the cast give it their all.
Calvin Hamilton-Pople’s guitarist Johnny is every inch the rock god wannabe; self-contained yet eternally twitchy, longing to be loved yet constantly lashing out.
A scene from Sex Drugs and…?. Pic: Culture Riot!.
The other two band members – bassist Nancy (Rowan McAlpine) and singer Nikki (Brodie Thompson) are a lot less rock’n’ roll but are thoughtfully portrayed. Thompson is brooding and vulnerable, McAlpine apparently more stable but harbouring secret sadness. (Who the drummer might be remains a mystery).
Annie White’s interviewer, meanwhile, remains little more than a narrative device, but is performed with realism.
intriguing
Nimmo’s sound design is intriguing, although the recorded sound is too loud for the performers to be heard at the start. Charlotte Purdie’s technical operation is accomplished.
In the end, too much of this comes from well-established realms of cliché. It teeters on the edge of parody, but always draws itself back.
Running time: One hour (no interval).
theSpace on the Mile (Space 2), 80 High St, EH1 1TH. (Venue 39).
Saturday 2 – Friday 22 August 2025).
Even dates only: 10.45 am.
Tickets and details: Book here on EdFringe.com.
Instagram: @cultureriotproductions
TikTok: @cultureriotproductions
The cast of Sex Drugs and…?. Pic: Culture Riot!.
ENDS
