‘Compelling, captivating, and crucial for the current times’
‘Boys’ by Ella Hickson is a play about masculinity, friendship, adulthood, and taking a stand for what’s important. First performed in 2012, this 2025 performance by Northern Assignment held its audience captive throughout its two-hour run, and is performed by a cast you don’t want to miss.
Taking place in a flat rented by four boys – the partier Timp (John McGeachie), the smug pessimist Mack (David Lister), the up-and-coming musical talent Cam (Ben Robert Cunningham), and the kindhearted Benny (Sam Stuart Fraser) – ‘Boys’ follows their lives throughout twenty-four hours in 2011 as Mack and Benny graduate from university. At the same time, Cam prepares for the musical performance of a lifetime, while Timp takes each excuse to party like nobody else. They are joined by Laura (Imogen Mackie Walker) and Sophie (Erin Scanlan), who join the boys as the truth unravels, leaving each character in difficult predictions.
From start to end, each actor provides a fascinating character, bouncing brilliantly off the energies of the others onstage. No matter where I looked, there was something happening – even without lines, actors engaged with each other constantly, creating an atmosphere brimming with tension and energy. There is startling depth to each character, culminating in a chilling scene towards the end where each character has a moment of breakdown. In particular, Ben Robert Cunningham draws attention, despite having limited lines in this moment: sobbing and mechanically moving back and forth with bin bags, torn between his friends’ viewpoints on what to do, the actors veer disturbingly and electrically between comedy and horror.
Another highlight was the relationship between Timp (John McGeachie) and Laura (Imogen Mackie Walker): both actors portrayed messy, agonisingly complex characters. McGeachie’s infectious presence onstage is complemented by Mackie Walker’s glowing portrayal of Laura.
The dynamic between Scanlan, Fraser, and Lister is equally impressive. Fraser has formidable range, shifting from the soft-spoken reflective young man to the viciously furious student, and his on-stage clash with Lister is reaches a delicious boiling point by the end of the play. Lister plays a seemingly-disgusting character with such brilliance that it feels near-impossible not to hate him – only to flip that on its head by the very end, when Mack’s facade comes crumbling down.
Scanlan’s portrayal of Sophie is fantastic. While in the text alone, Sophie comes across as unapologetic and somewhat shallow, Scanlan elevates her to a fractured, struggling young woman whose desperation reaches a fever pitch at the play’s climax. Showing amazing talent, she creates feelings of sympathy for the character that may have been difficult to feel for a weaker actor.
One of the only weaker spots comes at the very end. This is partially the script’s fault, which expects the audience to believe each of the characters forgive each other after some of the horrendous truths that emerge. I would have liked to see the actors play with these lines to express the uneasy tension between the dialogue and the reality of the characters – perhaps hinting that despite their verbal camaraderie, all is not resolved – but instead I was left feeling mildly dissatisfied by the end. As I said, however, I believe this is mostly due to the script: having been created in 2012, its gloss of several themes comes across as two-dimensional thirteen years later, in 2025.
Overall, however, Northern Assignment’s performance of ‘Boys’ by Ella Hickson is not to be missed. Deviously funny, shockingly relevant, and heartbreakingly well-acted, this performance showcases the incredible talent of Scottish theatre. Keep your eyes peeled for what this company and these actors do next!