Yard theatre, London
Two vividly portrayed fencers shuffle towards a climactic battle in this smart, galvanising coming-of-age drama
The verbal sparring is sharp and pointed in Gracie Gardner’s quick-witted play about two American high-schoolers training to fence competitively. Performed in full fencing get-up, this is a show of friendship fuelled by competition, of teenagers trying to figure it all out: whether practice is meant to be painful, how far they can bend the rules, how to parry both on and off the piste.
When Athena – it’s her stage name for fencing; she likes the air of mystery – asks Mary Wallace to train with her, the almost evenly matched pair are total strangers. Through casual disdain, deadpan humour and daily training, they shuffle themselves into a hesitant friendship.