Turn The Screw, Tickety-Boo
★★★★☆ Empathetic
theSpace on the Mile (Venue 39): Sat 8 – Fri 28 Aug 2026
Review by Hugh Simpson
Turn The Screw, Tickety-Boo! by David Scott, performed by Faceless Theatre and New Celts at theSpace on the Mile, is a compassionate piece of theatre that overcomes some peculiarities with assured direction and performances.
That rather awkward title might put you in mind of Henry James, but does (in its use of bingo calls) provide a clue to the setting – a bingo hall on Edinburgh’s Southside in the early years of this century, that provides a haven and a community for its assorted customers.
Mia Haden, Sophie Blair, Maria Fox, Abigail Jayne Speirs and Charlotte Purdie. Pic Iain Davie.
Into the hall walks Jo, an anxious unemployed teenager who would like to win the money to stop her being evicted from her flat, make friends or maybe even just to be noticed.
The story shifts from realism to the supernatural. There’s exploration of mental health issues, but there are also appearances by deities, and an ending that is just plain odd.
The various disparate elements are combined pretty effectively, however, and are helped considerably by Iona Clark’s extremely impressive direction, which creates a flow between the play’s more comic and serious elements, and uses movement particularly well.
Maria Fox is very good indeed as Jo, portraying the character’s anxiety extremely well. A tricky scene with a conversation between Jo and a vision of her dead mother is handled with aplomb.
sympathy and comedy
The other performers (Charlotte Purdie, Abigail Jayne-Speirs, Sophie Blair and Mia Haden) shift between roles skilfully, playing supernatural beings as well as humans. The use of the four of them as a cohesive and well-drilled ensemble is a real strength here.
Haden’s aloof, mysterious bingo caller and Purdie’s no-nonsense manager have real impact and Jayne-Speirs’s ‘pervy Pete’ has a horrible fascination. Blair’s portrayal of downtrodden Kelly is a particular highlight. Even those problematic ‘old person’ roles that bedevil younger companies are done with sufficient sympathy and comedy.
That mixture of empathy and humour runs throughout the play. Not all of it convinces, and some of it defies explanation. It has real heart, however, and is performed with conviction.
Running time: One hour (no interval).
theSpace on the Mile (Space 3), 80 High St, EH1 1TH. (Venue 39).
Saturday 8 – Friday 28 August 2026.
Daily (even dates only): 4.35pm.
Tickets and details: Book here at EdFringe.com.
Tickets direct from venue: Book here.
Facebook: @Faceless Theatre
Instagram: @facelesstheatre
Charlotte Purdie, Mia Haden and Maria Fox. Pic Iain Davie.
ENDS
