The opening play of the Preston Tringe Festival was ‘Waiting in Soho’ by Christopher Morgan.

It was performed by Preston’s Screaming Theatre group and it took a little while to get going.

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The play is set in a bar in Soho and features seven characters reciting monologues. Tales of loss, despair, happiness, love, dreams and obsession.

At first it was difficult to keep up, as the seven characters took it in turns to start their stories but as the play moved on you became embroiled in what the characters had to say. It wasn’t all doom and gloom, Tori Politt’s portrail of the obsessive Vivienne was excellent. She was a hopeless stalker, waiting at the bar for her ‘prey’ every week but never having the courage to speak to him – and fortunately so considering the twist at the end.

The hapless Nigel (Michael McWilliams) is the stereotypical office nerd, who avoids talking where possible and doesn’t like socialising with his colleagues, but his heart-warming tale of finding love has some amusing moments and the character is very well played by McWilliams.

The other character’s stories are good, all waiting for something (hence the title) but did not have the same shine as those of Vivienne or Nigel. However, by the end of the play you are completely engrossed in the tales and it did feel as though some of them weren’t resolved properly.

However, it’s an excellent play and once you’ve grapsed that these seven characters don’t interact with each other but all sit on the stage for the whole play it is an absorbing watch.

Waiting in Soho continues upstairs @ Adelphi on Sunday 26th July at 8 PM.

Image credit to OwenBlacker.