REVIEW: Being Frank, The Space On North Bridge, Edinburgh Fringe ✭✭✭✭

Popular company The Orange Works return to the Fringe with a new play by Ian Tucker Bell that explores male mental health. Men are certainly talking at the festival this year, and this is a welcome addition. Frank’s son Alex is having a crisis, and Frank doesn’t know how to deal with it  Via a device of the author, (a lovely performance by Philip Holden), asking the actors to help him tell the story, non communication between men is deftly handled. All of the characters are based on real people, and it shows in the sensitivity of the piece. Alex and Frank are encouraged to put together a bookcase, and that provides a comforting space for them to connect. I felt that the piece was a little short, that it feels like the beginning of a conversation, but the music moved many audience members. It could have been harder hitting, but I don’t think that is the company’s style  Tucker Bell us to be commended also for putting older gay characters on stage, and this play is well worth a visit.