Scottish playwright Douglas Maxwell’s pithy comedy-drama examines an age-old question: How soon is ‘too soon’.

Forty-something married couple Liane (Ainslie McGlynn) and Davie (Jeremy Waters) are heading out for the evening to visit old friend Milo (Henry Nixon). It’s been a while. In fact, they haven’t gotten together since Milo’s wife – also Liane’s best friend – died three months ago.

And Milo is using the occasion to introduce his old pals to his new girlfriend, Greta (Aisha Aidara). So, yeah … awkward.

Aisha Aidara and Jeremy Waters in So Young. Photo © Richard Farland

At first, everyone plays nice. Milo seems genuinely energised by a new relationship with a woman some 25 years younger than himself. Life goes on, eh? 

But Liane’s barely concealed discomfort quickly turns to hostility. What promised to be a merely uncomfortable night turns into something memorably terrible as Liane – driven by unprocessed grief and her Gen X feminist sensibilities – goes on the attack. Greta stands her ground, staunchly defending her relationship with Milo. The two men retreat into the relative safety of Milo’s record collection and a crafty vape on the balcony.

L-R: Henry Nixon, Ainsley McGlynn, Aisha Aidara and Jeremy Waters in So Young. Photo © Richard Farland

Written in the aftermath of COVID-19 and drawing on that deep reservoir of sadness and anger, So Young is a finely tuned study in discomfort. Maxwell leans on generational tropes at times, but this Outhouse Theatre production – a company with form when it comes to squirm-inducing material (Eureka Day, anyone?) – and director Sam O’Sullivan give it space and nuance.

The cast is uniformly strong, the performances excellent, led by McGlynn as Liane, whose tangled feelings of grief, jealousy and moral certainty shift in volatile ways over the play’s 80 minutes.

So Young plays at the Old Fitzroy Theatre, Woolloomooloo, Sydney until 22 November.