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theSpace @ Niddry Street – Studio
A tense ensemble play about the climate emergency exposes the contradictions of COP26 but fails to make an impact. Summary
Rating
Good
31 October 2021, COP26 is due to begin in Glasgow in a few hours and oil tycoon Joseph Johnson (Nick Gill) is travelling to the conference in a private jet with his daughter Jane (Emily Gibson) and secretary Margot (Claudia Rosier). In the same plane there is also famous actor Amodius Vassano (Will Leckie – also author of this play) together with his PA Cynthia (Lydia Clay-White).
The fanciful passengers are all self-absorbed in their first world problems when flight attendant Lewis McKenzie (Noah Miller) makes a catastrophic announcement: the plane has been hijacked and if Mr Johnson doesn’t confess the crimes committed by his company, it will crash and burn. Panic ensues and everyone tries to come up with some sort of solution.
There’s not quite enough time in fifty minutes to properly develop the subject matter, to the detriment of what we should be taking away from this play. First of all, there is an important debate on whether terrorism could ever be justified by an agenda as valid as the current climate emergency. Then, Joseph highlights a clash between sustainable development and social corporate responsibility. This swiftly makes room for a father-daughter conflict, spiced by Jane’s faltering mental health and addiction issues. Meanwhile Cynthia has a complete meltdown when the approaching death makes her realise how miserable a lifestyle she leads. Last but not least, Amodius is quickly but effectively portrayed as an opportunistic brat who’s always defending a good cause when the camera is on but, in reality, only cares about himself.
Lewis, who is arguably the only one pursuing positive change – albeit with a poor idea about its execution – is basically portrayed as a psychopath. We see him often in a corner of the stage, marginal to the action, staring into the distance and (literally) not making his voice heard: I was on the front row and I struggled to hear him. The only one who seems to have her wits about her and wants to come up with practical solutions is Margot. Unfortunately, she has so very few lines that we’re not given to know what her suggestions really are.
With this jumble of almost parodic characters enacted with frantic enthusiasm, it’s hard to tell what position this work by Visceral Theatre expects us to take. Despite its timely topic and engaging backstory, it sadly leaves too many questions unresolved and is ultimately reduced to mere entertainment.
Written by: Will Leckie
Directed by: Zoë Morris
Produced by: Visceral Theatre
Crash and Burn plays at EdFringe 2023 until 22 August, 9:20pm at TheSpace Niddry Street. Further information and bookings here
