Before The Sun Comes Up at theSpace @ Niddry St Review
There is plenty of heart at the centre of Before the Sun Comes Up, FirstByte Theatre’s new devised piece about friendship, growing up and the uncomfortable moment when the carefree days of being young begin to collide with the realities of adulthood.
Set in Burnley, the production follows a tight-knit group of teenagers whose lives revolve around friendships, nights out and the familiar feeling that the people around you will somehow remain part of your life forever. When two of the group announce their impulsive engagement, celebrations begin, but the excitement is short-lived as one night changes the course of their lives.
It is fertile ground for a coming-of-age story, and Before the Sun Comes Up is at its strongest when it simply allows us to spend time with these characters. The ensemble create a believable sense of friendship, with plenty of humour and affection between them. You get the impression of a group who have grown up together and know exactly how to wind each other up, and those lighter moments make the darker turns later in the piece considerably more effective.
The young cast throw themselves into the production with admirable commitment. There are some particularly confident performances amongst the ensemble, and even when the material doesn’t always land, there is never any doubt about how much the company believes in the story they are telling.
Where the production struggles slightly is in trying to fit quite a lot into its 45-minute running time. There are several characters, relationships and themes competing for attention, and as a result some of the more significant moments don’t have quite enough room to breathe. At points, characters can feel more like sketches of people than fully developed individuals, which means the emotional impact of later events isn’t always as powerful as it could be.
There are also moments where the dialogue and storytelling feel a little too deliberate in signalling what the audience should take from the piece. The strongest sections are invariably the most natural ones, when the cast are simply allowed to inhabit these friendships rather than push the themes to the foreground.
That said, there is something very likeable about Before the Sun Comes Up. Its exploration of young people growing up in a place where opportunities can feel limited is sincere, and the production clearly has something it wants to say about friendship, home and the frightening uncertainty of what comes next.
This is young theatre-makers tackling substantial material with ambition, energy and heart. The piece itself could benefit from further development and a little more restraint, allowing its characters and biggest emotional moments the space they deserve. But there is enough here to suggest a company with plenty of potential.
Before The Sun Comes Up plays at theSpace @ Niddry St until 13 Aug as part of the 2026 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
★★★
Written by Liam for Theatre and Tonic, August 2026.
