Showing @ Assembly George Square, Edinburgh until Sun 25 Aug @ 15:00 & 18:30
Award winning stand-up and successful television writer, Tom Basden is perhaps less well known for his foray into theatre. Already with two plays under his belt, his newest piece sees the survivors of a plane crash; co-workers Ian, Gus and Marie, and teenage Erin, stranded on a tropical island. As they wait for rescue, they begin to hypothesise what’s happening in the rest of the world.
With a strong opening, it’s a shame that the latter half begins to drag, the shouting sarcastic style of comedy getting increasingly repetitive. Like a funny Lord of the Flies, Basden’s script plays on the diverging character arcs as the assertive and confident but objectively bleak Ian bounces off on the morose and negative but ultimately hopeful Gus. There are farcical elements too as Marie begins to enjoy herself, a little bit too much, as if on holiday. Balancing the hilarity however are serious themes, Ian’s escalating assumptions touching on everything from climate change to full-scale nuclear war. Through Ian’s passion to belligerently dig holes, Basden appears to rather bleakly be saying, that it doesn’t matter if we remove the metaphorical chains that bind us, humanity will repeat the same mistakes.
One thought on “Holes by Tom Basden”