REVIEW: Island Town – Tron Theatre, Glasgow

West Midlands playwright Simon Longman’s 2018 play Island Town could arguably be set in any one of a number of locations in Britain, but its unnamed island setting undoubtedly adds an air of confinement that perfectly reflects the prospects of its teenage inhabitants.

Three 15 year olds Kate, Sam and Pete could be any trio of pals limited by the prospects in their small hometown: they hang out at the local swings, loiter around the local pub they are too young to frequent and chug cider and smoke fags stolen from their respective families. Their friendship genuine but undeniably bound by their mutual experience of trauma filled family lives. They still have dreams though, Sam of looking after her young sister, Pete of a family of his own and Kate, driven by plans to escape.

The Tron’s Changing House performance space perfectly reflects the claustrophobia of these young people endlessly repeating a cycle of behaviours that will inevitably confine them within the ring road that circles their grim little hometown.

Told at breakneck speed through a series of short, spiky scenes, many of which deliver an emotional gut punch, there is humour too, from snogging grannies to exploding goldfish but Longman’s play does suffer from relentless re-hashing of the same themes. It tells us nothing we don’t already know – the futility of these young people’s dreams, their destiny to fall into the same destructive patterns of generations of their families before them, nor does it do it in an original way. Making it wear somewhat thin over the 80 minute run time. The ending that is undoubtedly intended to be the greatest gut punch of all is easily guessed at from the first scenes. It’s a little too predictable, a little too clichéd.

What elevates this production is the trio of tour de force performances from the three young actors at its heart. Kyle McLean’s electrifying energy as the eternally optimistic Pete is an outstanding masterclass worthy of an actor well beyond his years. Mollie Milne’s quiet dignity as Sam is heart breaking and Maria Woodside’s Kate remains relentlessly self-destructive and hard to love but utterly understandable.

Island Town adds no new insight into the plight of young people either in 2018 when it was written nor now, nearly a decade later, but the flawless performances of its young cast elevate it above the norm.

Reviewed on 9 April 2026 | Image: Ryan Rutherford