Review: Overtone, Fringe 2026

Overtone is a play that asks its audience to piece things together.

Tom Brennan‘s two-hander moves between different points in its characters’ lives, exploring relationships, memory and the impact of experiences that stay with us. I could see what the production was trying to achieve, but it took me a while to understand who the characters were, how they related to one another and where we were in the timeline.

Once the pieces began to come together, there were some interesting ideas underneath the surface, but I wasn’t always able to connect with them as strongly as I wanted to.

Story & themes

The non-linear structure is ambitious, but for me it sometimes worked against the story.

There were moments where I found myself trying to work out what I was watching rather than becoming absorbed in it. Some of the tangents also felt slightly disconnected, leaving me questioning how they fitted into the wider narrative.

I particularly wanted the themes to be explored further. There are interesting ideas around relationships, power, memory and the effect of our past, but the production sometimes introduces these without taking them as far as I felt it could.

The ending does bring some of the earlier pieces into focus, but I was still left questioning what I was ultimately supposed to take away from it.

Performance

There is a real commitment from the performers, particularly when the mood shifts and the tension begins to build.

Some of the emotional changes are striking, although at times they felt very sudden. Characters could move from one mood to another within a scene, and I wasn’t always convinced by the transition.

Where the production really worked for me was in the quieter moments. The decision to leave certain moments in silence created an uncomfortable tension, giving the audience time to anticipate what might happen next.

Those pauses were some of the most effective moments of the show.

Staging

The use of the background to show the timeline and progression of the story was a clever touch.

With the narrative moving between different periods, having that visual reference gave me something to anchor myself to and helped distinguish where we were in the story.

I also liked the restraint in the staging. Rather than filling every moment, the production allows silence and space to do some of the work, which helped create an atmosphere that the dialogue didn’t always achieve.

Final thoughts

There is definitely something interesting at the heart of Overtone. I appreciated its ambition and the willingness to tackle difficult themes through a non-linear structure.

For me, though, the execution didn’t quite come together. I spent too much time trying to piece together the story and understand the characters, which made it harder to become emotionally invested in what was happening.

The strongest elements were the atmosphere, the use of silence and the visual way the timeline was presented. I just wanted the central themes to be explored with more depth and the character journeys to feel more developed.

It’s a production where I could see what it was trying to achieve, even if it didn’t fully resonate with me.