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With The End of Eddy, The Unicorn Theatre and Untitled Projects present Pamela Carter’s adaptation of Edouard Louis’ autobiographical work En finir avec Eddy Belleguele, directed by Stewart Laing.  Louis, whose real name was Eddy Belleguele before he legally changed it, wrote the a book in 2014 at the age of 21 to immediate critical acclaim and commercial success. The play follows the young Eddy as he discovers his homosexuality in a remote, economically depressed manufacturing town in France.  The book’s study of poverty, repression, shame, pride, masculinity and violence and the relationship these have to each other was controversial upon its release and remains no less thought-provoking in this production.

Indeed, controversy surrounding the book mainly centred on what many felt was an overly harsh portrayal of the provincial French town. Though Louis maintains that what he describes is based on personal experience, one feels when watching Carter’s adaptation that she is wary of both of over-dramatising the negatives and over-romanticising the positives of the story. The resulting  adaptation is extremely self-conscious. Extracts from the book inform its story. Changes to the original text are carefully documented and announced before they are performed. Though not unprecedented in theatre, the practice is unusual and might have had the effect of drawing one out of the visceral story of the performance, which isn’t so excellent. Instead, Carter’s adaptation displays a profound respect for the original text and the audience is compelled to join in admiration for an uncompromising tale well told.

Alex Austin and Kwaku Mills share the role of Eddy, as well as playing the other characters in the play, such as Eddy’s parents, siblings and peers. The two actors narrate, sing, dance, and move props around the stage. Four TV screens dominate the stage (as, we are told, they dominated Eddy’s home life) and display words, images, and pre-recorded footage of the actors playing various roles.  Both young actors gives an outstanding performance. They shift from narration to action seamlessly, and it is by their skill that we can lose ourselves in an otherwise self-conscious, focused story. Josh Anio Grigg’s sound design is effective, if sparse (Austin’s vocals are an easy highlight of the performance), and Zerlina Hughes’ lighting choices are unobtrusive but influential.

Often when we watch plays, we note how their themes and concerns seem timeless, but this play feels relevant. This is significant praise – it does not have to be appreciated for the reserved qualities of high theatre (though it has these also). This production will resonate with you. Poverty, violence, ostracisation, and homosexuality are themes which, in this production,  feel as though they are concerns of our time as well as all time.