Revu Spare Room

“Spare Room” Poster

An unfortunately only too true story that feels real to life, admirably performed. Spare Room is an unflinching drama.

As of 2026, the university experience in the UK is something quintessential for young people. It is a part of life, like learning to read and write. Thousands upon thousands of young people graduate each year and yet the media depicting that time at university tends to be limited and less informed, and oftentimes written by people much older trying to parse and speculate on what it must be like.

“Spare Room”

In comparison to the vast number of people who actually go through university, to see work written by the people who have lived it - and for it to be of this quality is -  something refreshing and rare.

Jodie moves into a university flat, mainly of boys but her one saving grace is that there is one other girl who lives there: Mary. However, much to her despair, there is no Mary, not really, “Mary” is just a nickname that the boys have for one of the others. The boys need her to pay the rent and she does not want to move back home to live with her mother, so despite the deception and misunderstanding of the situation, she stays.

Spare Room is vast in scope and it sports a large cast, especially for a Fringe show. The production has a soundscape of almost constant drum and bass as each scene unfolds of endless partying followed by endless hangovers, followed by endless day drinking and even more endless partying. 

There is nothing neat in this production. There is no sense of ideas being tied too neatly in a bow or lessons being learned by the characters. It is as messy as life. It is life. Yet still, the writers, Georgina Housby and Sam Dinnage have cultivated and framed enough that we do see these characters' lives unfold. 

“Spare Room”

There is cheating. There is misogyny. There are drugs. There is bullying. There is nudity. There is laughter. There is friendship. There is trust that is broken. It is strictly a warts and all depiction that will find something that a young person has gone through at university, no matter their experience.

Acting across the board is strong but Luke Dyer as “Mary” the half little brother, half laughing stock of the group is particularly moving and “Sienna” played by Annabel McCusker, a girl who finds herself consistently as the girl that one of the boys cheats on his partner with is also very compelling as well.

However, at times the soundscape volume can be too loud, making it difficult to discern what the actors are saying and said soundscape can feel at odds with the tone of some beats and moments within the production. Furthermore, more refining could be had to the real life nature of some of the scenes and content within the play, further tailoring it to bring its story further to the forefront.

However, Spare Room, is strong, it is compelling and it is necessary viewing, whether you are old or young.

Tickets can be found here: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/spare-room

3.5/5 Stars

“Spare Room”

By Ethan H.M.M