After Party @ Traverse: Dignity in Death and Breaking of Generational Cycles of Hurt (Fringe review) 4 stars

4 Stars 

After Party is a witty family drama that revolves around the matriarch Vivienne, a once movie star now ravaged by cancer and looking for a way out with dignity. The party is to celebrate her last hurrah before the following day’s appointment for assisted suicide. Despite her fragile state, Vivienne, played expertly by Alison Peebles, remains feisty and energetic, trying desperately to break the seriousness of the moment, especially that caused by the protests of her children: Geoff, still carrying childhood grudges and worried about his mother’s estate, and Lily, hiding herself behind religion to desperately avoid becoming like her mother.

Despite the dramatic nature of the play, and Vivienne’s frail and tragic death at the end, this is really a play about healing and the breaking of generational cycles of hurt. Vivienne and her spunky ex-husband, Bill, already tried hard to do better by their grandchildren, James and Sasha, but they spend their last hours trying to repair the relationship with their own children. It is Cass, James’s girlfriend and the only outsider to this family tragedy, who acts as a catalyst for change, forcing the painful conversation to happen before it is too late.

The play also explores the tension between performance and reality. As she approaches death, Vivienne abandons the grandeur of her past as an actress. There are no more Shakespeare monologues and gowns, just an old woman approaching her final moments with her family by her side. There is no grand final speech between her and her wife, Carol – just no words left to be said. It is the fall of this mask that allows the healing to happen, and for the family to reconcile and hope for a future together after her departure.

It is a visually beautiful play that makes great use of the stage, with some reminders of the Last Supper as everyone takes a place at the table right beside Vivienne’s wheelchair, creating an atmosphere that feels nearly Ibsenian, except for the final scene that ultimately sees the family reconciled.

After Party is at Traverse 1 as part of TravFest 2026 until 30th August

Photo credit: Marc Brenner