Sunday 8 October 2023

Coast (A Play, a Pie and a Pint), Traverse

 Following the death of one of their mothers, two half brothers agree to go on a road trip to finally get to know one another, having grown up totally apart.  Kay (Beruce Khan) is the elder, resentful of the father that deserted him and his late mum, and had to grow up too soon.  Jay (Hamzah Aftab) is still, he thinks, the rebel of his youth, carelss of society's conventions.  The unlikely couple set off, with the conversation stilted and the silences awkward, hoping that they will bond along the way.  Well, Kay does.

Car problems mean things don't quite go as planned, forcing the brothers closer, and the conversation, and the admissions, become more and more personal.  Histories are explored, resentments aired, parents analysed, until a crisis grabs their joint attention and they are forced to make a decision that affects them both.  

The scrpit has a few stumbles along the way, and Khan is the more convincing of the two, but it's an enjoyable romp, often funny, and sometimes moving.  Was Philip Larkin right about your parents?  You'd think so from Coast.


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