Showing @ Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh until 5 March @ 13:00
We will never fully grasp the impact of institutions on our lives. From education to politics, the workplace to the family unit, our dependence on and experience with institutions influence who we are and the choices we make. Abigail Docherty’s adaptation Four Parts Broken, the latest production in the Traverse’s Play, Pie and a Pint season, captures four moments in the lives of four people struggling to move on and adapt to changes in their lives.
Provocative performances from the cast – including Neds star Conor McCarron – are stunted by a confusing and anti-climatic script; the intention of suspense is apparent but what is lacking is a dénouement or explosion of the tension that accumulates throughout. Nevertheless, fight sequence choreography is slick and music plays over lit scene changes bridging sections in such a way that they create atmosphere and pre-empt the following scenarios. As each character progresses, we see their objectives voided by their inability, or fear of, adapting to new environments and lifestyles. Institutions are capable of empowering us with aspirations of a prosperous lifestyle. Change is a term currently being promoted by our government, at the same time as they are restricting social mobility and freedom. As Philip (McCarron) shows, not all of us dream of MacBooks and new clothes; some of us are just looking forward to a steak & kidney pie with family. If the government’s idea of change carries on like this, it’s unlikely that there will be such a thing as prosperity for us to look forward to.