Michael Cox reviews The Pitiless Storm, 13 Sunken Years and The Trial of Jane Fonda.
I’m not too sure exactly which label the producers wish to stick on The Pitiless Storm (****)-political commentary, reactionary rabble rousing or just plain agitprop theatre. Whatever the case, the play is the purest Scottish referendum production I’ve yet to see, and it is without doubt on the side of the Yes camp.
Which is perfectly fine. It doesn’t lie about its intentions and it makes quite a passionate case for its beliefs. It’s not a play that is necessarily interested in painting a portrait of both sides; it is a monologue of a politician who is about to accept an OBE, and as he prepares to give the speech of his career, his past taunts him and makes him rewrite his speech into a rousing ‘Yes’ statement.
The ace up the sleeve is the towering performance by David Hayman. As career politician Bob Cunningham, Hayman is constantly mesmerising, taking the audience on a riveting journey through his life and political activism. A few more nuggets of information could have been divulged in Chris Dolan’s script, but Hayman does an excellent job in filling in all the plot blanks.
Perhaps much more interesting is the after-show talk. Hayman is an engaging figure: passionate yet courteous, fiery yet approachable. With only a few minutes allowed, the talk was only starting to get interesting when the audience had to make way for the next production—as is so often the way with Fringe spaces.
This is a shame, because it seems that this isn’t necessarily a play to be enjoyed but meant as a springboard for discussion afterwards, and to not be allowed that discussion feels a bit of a let-down, especially as (when I saw it), people in the No and Undecided camps were just feeling brave enough to speak up. That aside, The Pitiless Storm is a worthy political juggernaut in this, the most important political season we’re likely to have in Scotland for some time.
Perhaps unbridled passion is what 13 Sunken Years (***) is missing. The play, a co-production between Stellar Quines and Lung Ha, is set in Finland and is about Eva, a young woman from a long line of strong-willed women who sacrifices university to stay home to look after her gran after her mother disappears.
It's an intriguing premise, one with lots of dramatic potential. The problem is that the script, by Paula Salminen, seems more interested in some mundane day-to-day incidents and in finding ways of incorporating the rather obvious metaphor of a cold, dangerous river into the plot rather than focusing on Eva and the choices and sacrifices she is forced to endure.
The company are fine, with some performances standing out more than others. Billy Mack is particularly good in the underwritten role of Eki, while Nicola Tuxworth brings a rather nice naturalism to Eva. The rest of the production values are equally good, and the overall story and characters are interesting enough for the 75-minute run.
But something still feels missing: a dramatic beating heart. There is nothing wrong with 13 Sunken Years, but like its metaphoric river it’s a production that seems to run a predictable course rather than rush into uncharted territory, which is a shame.
I’m sure the parallels between The Trial of Jane Fonda (***) and 12 Angry Men are intentional. The play, about a group of Vietnam vets who are presented the opportunity to confront Ms Fonda at a church meeting about her infamous anti-war activities, is a mostly single-room drama where characters talk in order to express themselves and change opinions.
And for the most part it is rather good. Actress Anne Archer has received top billing as Fonda, and she is more than worthy of the publicity that has been thrown at this production. Consistently believable and interesting, Archer doesn’t try to impersonate Fonda but just goes for a subdued performance, reacting to a group of men who are mostly braying for her head—and she is great. But this is an ensemble piece in which every performance is as important, and some of the actors portraying veterans actually outshine Archer.
The drama is well handled, with film clips and narration that gives a way in for audiences not overly familiar with US Vietnam policy and Fonda’s activism. These mostly don’t get in the way of the unfolding drama, even if writer/director Terry Jastrow’s production does seem to overly reliant on them from time to time.
However, the one thing missing is the thing that made 12 Angry Men so compelling: a building pace. Men starts almost leisurely but ends at breakneck speed. The Trial of Jane Fonda, however, seems to just bob along, coming across less as a ‘trial’ and more as a simple ‘discussion’. A quicker, more brutally tempered second-half would have certainly made the production much better and given it a sense of immediacy, something the production mostly lacks. Only the final scene, a quiet, heart-breaking duologue between Fonda and one of the men, has the emotional punch the play works for but doesn’t quite manage.
But the production is still very good and worth catching, particularly those interested in the subject matter or in solid ensemble dramas.
All three shows perform at the Assembly Rooms on George Street, Edinburgh. The Pitiless Storm performs at 1230, 13 Sunken Years performs at 1405 (not 18) and The Trial of Jane Fonda performs 1605.
13 Sunken Years is part of the Made in Scotland programme.
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