PLAY REVIEW: Shotgunned ★★

 

From its critically acclaimed at Edinburgh Fringe to this solemn transfer at Riverside Studios, Shotgunned emerges as an exploration of love, loss, and self‑identity. Writer‑director Matt Anderson fashions a debut that feels safe.

The play revolves around Dylan and Roz, a young couple whose relationship fractures in ways both inevitable and unexpected. Told in non‑linear fragments—snippets of happier early meetings, sharp humour, painful confrontations and tender moments—the story feels like sorting through a box of memories: sometimes joyful, sometimes jagged, always illuminating. The transitions between scenes feel disjointed, with a lack of sound design and sharp blackouts giving no chance to actually sit with the scene we’ve just witnessed. It feels like bitty snapshots in this couple’s failed relationship, and at the end of it all, leaves us with a sour taste.

Fraser Allan Hogg and Lorna Panton bring Dylan and Roz to life with little chemistry. Hogg’s Dylan is an insecure male, whilst Panton’s Roz is steeply more compelling and given the meater dialogue; guarded, witty, and often hurt, yet never allowed to fall into clichéd victimhood.

Anderson’s clearly been inspired by its more familiar story’s that make some of the narrative beats, where echoes of Constellations and Lungs surface. With minimal props three blocks to simply set up the surroundings, Anderson ensures the focus stays rooted in character, At roughly an hour’s length, it’s just about bearable to sit through, but you can’t help but feel cheated out of a half baked script.