Words: Libby Taylor

5 stars

Refuse is a new, emotionally resonant drama by Just Bcoz Productions, that follows a bin collector whose familiar suburban world is shattered by war in Ukraine.

This may well be the best acting you see at the Fringe this year. The cast (Vasyl Sydorko, Lucy McIlgorm, and Maria Shtofa) brought commitment and focus to portraying every character. They naturally and convincingly moved between different ages and genders, which is not often successful in theatre. Every look had intention, every body part engaged and their voices had such range that they used to their full advantage.

The director, Anastazie Toros, is clearly as talented as the actors, as evidenced by the stand-out movement that permeated the piece. It could easily have been performed in a more traditional manner, but movement was effectively used to bring more fun, more emotion, and very slick scene transitions. Toros ensured the flow of the show through also playing with audience focus. Whilst the audience focused on one character narrating and contextualising part of the story, another would do a quick change elsewhere on the stage and then, seemingly out of nowhere, appear in a new outfit. The costumes, lighting, and sound were, similarly, carefully considered and incorporated only where they added value.

McIlgorm is a multi-talented theatre-maker and BBC Radio 4 Shortlisted playwright, who alongside performing, wrote the fantastic script for this piece. Her writing produced regular laughter as well as a growing sense of foreboding, leading up to the scenes of war, which provoked meaningful reflection and avoided overdramatised clichés that many fall into.

If all this talent wasn’t enough, half the profits are being donated towards rebuilding Ukrainian homes. A production well-worth attending.

Refuse
Studio Five, Assembly George Square Gardens
11.05
12-25 Aug