Some Gorgeous Accident

Assembly Hall
5-30 Aug, 12.30

Don’t you just dig an old-fashioned love triangle? The one at the centre of Some Gorgeous Accident is as retro as they come, adapted from the eponymous novel by 1960s Scottish screenwriter James Kennaway. Playing it three ways in the back-streets of Swinging London are Irish chancer Link, dodgy doctor pal Fiddes and the sassy reporter Susie Steinberg, trading love, loyalty and ethics at the drop of a shot glass.

Inside Intelligence’s slick production uses minimal staging, score and costume changes to maximum effect in conjuring up sex and gin-soaked Soho. But despite this beat aesthetic, the avant-garde vibe gives way to a surprisingly conventional courtroom drama in the second half. It feels disjointed and not in the manner intended.

Louis Egan is a rather weak Link, low on charm, high on mumbled lines. And while Ben Warwick is believable as Fiddes and Annarose Cattanach makes sense of Susie’s career-girl contradictions, the strongest performer is the bit-part player outside the triangle. From Irish grandmother to club hostess, Katie Fabel’s versatility suggests a talent to watch.