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Theatre Review: Crude **

Michael Cox reviews a production 'with big ideas but little substance'.

Oil. No doubt, it is one of the most important and controversial topics of modern society. Reason enough for it to constantly feature everywhere: as a main plot thread, an aspect of character or a point of political agitation. Even at this moment, much of the discussion centred on Scotland’s present and future is focused on oil.

How fitting it is, then, that Grid Iron’s latest production is performed in a large shed at Dundee’s port, a stone’s throw away from the very industry it depicts. Alas, that choice is the strongest aspect of Crude, a production with big ideas but little substance.

There is no denying writer/director Ben Harrison’s passion for the topic. He has many ideas that populate the production. Sadly, what comes across is a hodgepodge of moments and characters that have potential but haven’t come to fruition, resulting in a show that looks like a living ideas board.

Having characters that are unsympathetic is fine, but such characters should at least be developed. What we have here instead are cardboard figures that are manoeuvred around an impressively designed set. There is little substance to be found: a married couple who bring out the worst in each other, a doomed activist, a naive new employee, a manager out to prove her gender doesn’t make her soft and an African man tired of seeing his country polluted by the industry. Oh, and then there’s Texas Jim, our plucky MC who’s happy to give history lessons and break out in song—much like a similarly named character found in The Cheviot, the Stag and the Black, Black Oil.

With all of the talent involved and the rich subject matter at hand, this production should have been a winner. Instead, Crude is a disappointing fragment of a play. All tease and no payoff, the shambolic undeveloped script all but chokes any potential within the staging. It might look slick but in the end it is…well, quite crude.

Performs until October 23, 2016. Check Grid Iron website for further details.

Tags: theatre

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