Showing @ Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, until Sun 25 Aug @ times vary
September 2014 will bring with it the independence referendum. We have 13 months left to decide whether we vote yes – to an ambiguous future as an independent country – or no – to a United Kingdom that really is better together. The Traverse Theatre and Wales Millennium Centre present the world premiere of Tim Price’s state-of-the-nation satire. Directed by Hamish Pirie, the story follows a four-piece indie band, The Union, as they face bankruptcy and endeavour to write a new album.
The piece is episodic, divided into chapters, witty song titles that caption the scene that follows. The characters: one Welsh, Scottish, English and Northern Irish, represent each quarter of the UK. The allegory provides witty observations and wry cynicism, though is at moments a little too obvious. The stage is set up like a studio and the all-male cast play live music on stage, intermittent with dialogue. Price doesn’t offer any answers but he does condense the big picture into a concise 90 minutes. The question it asks is: after all of this, what will really change?
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