Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Paul Broughton, Michael Starke.

The humble British Shed, so loved by many, so bemusing too many more. A place where sanctuary is sought, where peace can reign and Time can be seen not to ravage but to almost stall, decay at a slower rate, to inspire growth and let thoughts take hold in a way that the outside world, almost insistent on the answers being forthcoming at the speed of knots, cannot comprehend. The shed is last refuge, be it six foot wide in all directions or built in the fashion that some might as well retire and spend their remaining days locked within and practise for the ultimate last days of potting and cutting dead leaves of a much valued plant.

Shed, a four letter word that holds so much, a humble word, yet one that holds the evocative and the mysterious, what goes on behind the dirt engrained windows, what lives in amongst the wood being burned and what stories can be told? The Shed is the place where an old friend can pop by after 25 years and the natural territory offered can be more homely that the bricked up atmosphere afforded by the home can ever be.

For Donny and Davey, two friends for almost half a century, the Shed is the last place they expected to see each other again. With Davey living abroad and Donny content in isolation, the secrets that unfold in this particular meeting are ones that bind forever.

For Paul Broughton and Michael Starke, Shed also represents new beginnings. Both actors being much loved in the city for their wit, their playfulness of spirit and bundles of energy they bring to the stage, they have graced the Royal Court Theatre with characters, rich, bold, dynamic and graceful. Shed is no different except that at this stage of their careers they have done something remarkable, they have told a tale of their own, they have written a modern play with great feeling for the first time together and it should be noted that for a debut, there is much depth to it, that at times it has the ring of Beckett about it, Beckett with the sense of humour that doesn’t necessarily fall of every page but is more rounded. It is the humour of a person facing the serenity, the peace, the acceptance that the next stage in life brings.

Reflective, contemporary, steeped in British life and performed ultimately with tenderness that an audience can only rightfully expect from a play involving both Paul Broughton and Michael Starke. Shed is an enjoyable and fascinating joint writing debut from two of the city’s much loved actors, one in which laughter and pathos will be shed.

Ian D. Hall