It is rare to come out of a show raving about the structure, but the unusual plotting distinguishes Milly Sweeney’s two-hander. The young playwright’s theme is the way everyday social pressures – the stress of completing an art degree show, the anxiety of starting a job – can take a toll on mental health. With sensitivity, she traces the step-by-step process that might take someone from depression, compounded by circumstance, to thoughts of suicide.
Her characters are Esme (Molly Geddes) – friendless at Prestwick Academy, isolated at Glasgow School of Art – and Harris (Ryan J Mackay), seemingly on the up after landing a job as a kitchen porter in a Michelin-star restaurant.
The novelty in Water Colour, named best new play in the 2026 Cats awards, is that the two young people are unknown to each other. Their stories play out independently, except for the significant moment when they cross, one inadvertently helping the other at the point of greatest need. It is built with the elegance of a figure of eight.
A joint venture by the Byre theatre, Pitlochry Festival theatre and the Traverse, it is punchily performed by Geddes and Mackay, who help narrate each other’s stories to create the illusion of their happening at the same time. She plays his tyrannical head chef, while he plays her opinionated tutor, the two revelling in their malevolent caricatures in Sally Reid’s buoyant production.
This lightness of touch leavens the play’s serious intent. When Esme is suffering from debilitating inertia, still in bed at 3pm, Harris is the partying carouser with money to burn. The roles are reversed as the play loops round on itself, illustrating the fragility of our emotional health without overstating the case. It is a clever piece of writing, brisk and confident, portraying isolation even as it celebrates the power of mutual support.
• At Traverse theatre, Edinburgh, until 30 August
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• In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123. In the US, you can call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org
