Robert McMillan

I went into Night Journey expecting a fairly dry retelling of The Odyssey. Instead, I found myself genuinely intrigued.

What surprised me most wasn't the source material, but how invested I became in the relationships that developed within the classroom setting. The rapport between the characters felt natural and compelling, and I found myself increasingly drawn into their dynamics as the play unfolded. The performances across the cast were consistently strong, with particularly engaging work from Zuke, Ash, and Joan, all of whom brought authenticity and nuance to their roles.

Unfortunately, the production took a dramatic turn for the worse when Carla entered. The performance felt noticeably underprepared—lines appeared to be read directly from a script, there were frequent stumbles, and much of the dialogue was delivered while facing away from the audience. It completely broke the immersion the rest of the cast had worked so hard to build.

I appreciate that Fringe is a space for experimentation and emerging artists, and I think audiences generally come with that understanding. But there's a difference between taking creative risks and appearing unprepared. In this case, it came across as unprofessional and ultimately undermined what had been a surprisingly engaging production.

It's disappointing because Night Journey had all the ingredients to be a memorable Fringe show. For some of its runtime, it certainly was.