Scribble @ Assembly Roxy

Scribble is a frustrating watch. Writer Andy Edwards takes on a lot of big themes in this fast-paced, 40-minute two-hander: anxiety, OCD, paedophilia, the enormity of the universe and… well, bran flakes. All fall under the script’s spotlight, but the end product is a piece with immense promise and disappointing results.  

Alan MacKenzie plays the central role of Ross alongside a different, unprepared female actor for each performance – Scribble takes a slightly different take on the idea from the likes of Manwatching and Nassim.

MacKenzie is incredibly accomplished in the lead, providing a frenetic energy that demands a high-octane response from his co-performer, and by the time this performance's co-star, Lanna, joined the action fully, the pair shared such a chemistry that it was hard to believe they had never performed together before.

All the problems come from the script and an inconsistency that leaves you questioning whether the things you initially enjoyed in the play were actually as good as you thought. To give Edwards the benefit of the doubt, the first half of the performance was thoroughly engaging and his evocations of anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorder both moving and compelling, while Ross’s fear and paranoia at the geographical separation of him and his girlfriend was relatable and human.

But ultimately the script tries to tackle more than it can cope with and, in a disturbing middle section, strays into a moral complexity it simply doesn’t warrant, culminating in a scene about paedophilia that is offensive and unnecessary. Good ideas are eclipsed in this play by an ill-conceived scribble through the middle. 

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Scribble, Assembly Roxy, until 27 Aug (not 15 or 22 Aug), times vary, £8-9