THE BAND BACK TOGETHER at the Arcola Theatre

★★★★

“a brittle and elegaic exploration of music, melancholy and missed opportunities”

When the band gets back together, there’s always going to be more to unpack than a muffled snare drum and a spare plectrum. The inventory will inevitably include revelations, regrets and ruminations on the roads not taken.

So it is for Elle, Ross and Joe who have lived a lifetime since their Salisbury-based trio cut a swathe across Wiltshire and surrounding counties. They were young then, and carefree. They return for a reunion gig in their 30s, but reluctantly, for they are different people now.

Barney Norris writes and directs The Band Back Together, a frequently funny, often mournful and never less than engaging examination of that rare and ephemeral thing – youthful friendships – and why they can never last. While the piece never hits any true emotional heights – the music doing the heavy lifting here – the pace never flags.

Joe (James Westphal) is the instigator of the reunion, prompted into action by a charity gig to raise money for the Salisbury Novichok poisonings of 2018.

They worry no one will remember that time when the cathedral city became the centre of global geo-political wrangling. They worry more, of course, that no one will remember the band (although they assure themselves that a 5pm start will guarantee a decent crop of 80-year-olds).

Joe is the one that never got away, staying in Salisbury all his life. He claims to be happy despite his agitation. Joe is abject with Westphal capturing the tics of someone living the wrong life in the wrong skin.

His first encounter with poised Ellie (Laura Evelyn) is an excruciating and often hilarious masterclass in awkwardness. It’s all mistimed fist bumps, angular hugs and bad taste banter that used to work but now hits hard. Cold coffee and cold comfort inform their tentative investigations into each other’s lives as they struggle to find rhythm.

“That’s depressing,” becomes Ellie’s wry refrain as Joe tries to convince her that everything worked out perfectly. Her own life – trying for a baby, settling down – is not without its troubles but Evelyn gives Ellie a playful air, smoothing the fragments of her distress.

Ross (Royce Cronin) is the third member of the band, arriving late. Like Ellie, he also escaped. He made it as a minor musician so, in this crowd, he can afford to be louche, provocative and arrogant. Cronin finds the sweet spot, never letting us cast him as villain.

Magically, this tense and feisty sparring melts to nothing when the band begins to play. In a nice touch, even their conversation becomes more poetic when spoken through a mic.

Credit to the versatile performers, the musical interludes are handsome and accomplished. The actors play live, and exceptionally well. In Arcola’s plain studio, with cables and stands, littering the space (Becci Kenning), it’s not difficult to imagine the sweaty-bricked backdrop of a pub rock venue in “Warminster and Trowbridge” where the band hit their heights.

Music has the power if not to heal the wounds at least provide relief. Then it’s back to the rigours of conflict. It turns out the trio can master the drums, keyboard and guitar but it is that pesky triangle that will be their undoing.

The Band Back Together is a brittle and elegaic exploration of music, melancholy and missed opportunities. This compact production, with three vital performances at its heart, will strike a chord with anyone who left themselves behind in order to grow up.