Time Bends
★★★★☆ Devastatingly beautiful
theSpace on the Mile (Venue 39): Mon 11 – Fri 22 Aug 2025
Review by Erin Frances Speirs
Time Bends is a beautiful exploration of queer love, written and directed by William Oliveira, playing theSpace on the Mile for the final two weeks of the fringe.
This devastating play from emerging theatre company Bleeding Cowboy is told through the breakdown of the memories created during one, long-past evening.
Tom McMillan and Izzy Burton. Pic Zachariah Levens.
David, a family man, goes to the cinema with his wife for a once-in-a-full-moon date night only to relive the memories of being in the same venue twenty years prior when he met the enigmatic Michael.
The play begins in a dimly lit room, fitted only with a small circular table with a candle on it. David (Tom McMillan) tells his wife Julie (Izzy Burton) that the man he met in the same independent cinema twenty years prior has passed away.
Things begin to spiral within David’s mind as his wife goes outside for a cigarette and he is whisked back into the memories of that night with Michael (Duccio Baldasseroni). David, at the time of the original meeting, is a literature student whereas Michael is a former actor who seems to have lived a thousand lives.
visceral
Although David appears as strait-laced as it comes, and Michael admittedly has a wife, there are sparks between the men immediately. Their connection is visceral, although they bond over intellect, with electric chemistry between the actors.
David’s memories begin to fragment as his wife returns and he begins to break, begging to rewrite the story. Time Bends is deep and thoughtfully written, as the men discuss politics, philosophy, art and literature. They flirt with their brains before eventually moving onto more physical forwardness.
Tom McMillan and Duccio Baldasseroni. Pic Zachariah Levens.
William Oliveira writes the characters with truthfulness, filled with complex emotions and internal battles. The naturalistic performances heighten this, with simplistic yet emotionally rife direction also from Oliveira. Baldasseroni portrays the enticing Michael with charm, elegance, and mystique in contrast to McMillan’s youthful and energetic performance as the puppy-dog like student. These energies play off each other with brilliant fervour.
Time Bends throws us into confusion as David’s memories break down. Unfortunately, there are moments that confuse audiences further which do not seem intentional. Numerous timings and details of props are missed, with coffees being brought out before they are ordered for example.
depth and clarity
The relationship between David and Julie, established in the first scene, is contrived. They almost speak as if they are divorced. We later see Julie to be a caring, compassionate, and supportive wife, which does not come across in their first scene together.
Burton’s portrayal of Julie is strong, hitting emotional beats with depth and clarity, as she must carry a different type of emotional weight than the two men. However, as her character is not the focal of the story, she does appear slightly undeveloped. There is space to create more depth for Julie so that she can be more than an emotional bottle stopper for David.
Time Bends is a brilliant, emotionally wrought play. Exploring the devastating truth of Queer grief, this tear-jerker brings audiences on an engaging journey full of heartbreak and hard choices.
Running time: 50 minutes (no interval).
theSpace on the Mile (Space 1), 80 High Street EH1 1TH (Venue 39).
Monday 11 – Friday 22 August 2025.
Daily: 10.50pm.
Tickets and details: Book here on EdFringe.com.
Instagram: @Time.Bends.Fringe
Linktree: @time.bends.fringe
Tom McMillan and Duccio Baldasseroni with Sayaka Higashi. Pic Zachariah Levens.
ENDS
