Waiting For Spring, Edinburgh Fringe Festival – Review

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Finding closure when relationships end is hard enough, but when death is the cause, pulling oneself back from the brink is a nigh-impossible task… Directed by Sarah Wilkinson, Waiting For Spring focuses on Jack (Alex Noblett) and Annie (Steph Reynolds), a once-happy couple whose time together is cut short by tragic circumstances. Taking time off work for depression, all Jack wants to do is sit at home watching TV and be left alone… Except the ‘ghost’ of Annie won’t let him…

There are obvious, superficial comparisons to Truly, Madly, Deeply, but Waiting For Spring is very much a tale about contemporary relationships. The play does jump back and forth between the past and the present, allowing the audience to assess how ‘perfect’ Annie and Jack’s relationship truly was and the reasons why Jack can’t let go of his anger…

Waiting For Spring shows Annie and Jack as very different people, a case of opposites that attract. Naturally talkative and confident, the emotional solace Annie’s given Jack is more than he ever hoped or expected from anyone. It’s also the reason why he’s inconsolable at her death. And while Jack’s workplace is generally less stressful than Annie’s, his quieter, steady personality is a boon for her – even if he is a bit of a ‘grump’ from time to time…

Far from being secondary characters, Emma (Leni Murphy) and Andy (Marcus Christopherson) are indirectly responsible for bringing Annie and Jack together in the first place. Complementing- and contrasting with their respective best friends, they challenge their behaviour and bring measured levity to the proceedings.

Handled incorrectly, addressing grief and ‘moving on’ from past relationships can be trite or not ring true. Waiting For Spring, however, acknowledges the capacity to look at the past with ‘rose-tinted’ glasses, as well as the natural Auden-esque inclination to ‘Stop all the clocks’ when one’s ‘working week and Sunday rest’ is gone.