The Ducks is the kind of play you hope to see at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival: cutting-edge work by a skilled young playwright, acted by equally young and gifted performers.
In Michael McLean's gutsy and compelling one-acter, Dean Ashton and Thomas Morrison play two 20-somethings doing clean-up work at a pond in Northern England. Despite their differences -- one is rough and working class, the other sensitive and bookish -- they become friends, linked by beer, pop music and alienation. In a series of swift, tersely-written scenes, their relationship is deftly drawn by the playwright, who has a fine ear for pungent dialogue and a keen eye for the power games that people play.
Aided by Madeleine Girling's simple but ingenious set -- two large wooden boxes that serve, in a flash, as a bar, a deejay's podium a game board, a tool chest, "R" and "K" work out the ever-changing way they relate to each other. First they seem to be equals, and happy for it. Then one begins to dominate, take control, and that's cool too, until the other begins to change and grow, in such a strong, new way as to upset and anger the other, leading to a dark, ferocious confrontation and resolution. McLean's portrait of these two disaffected, tormented kids is painted with bold, brave strokes. He is a writer to watch out for; ditto his two actors and their impressive director.
