DARK COMEDY
Showing @ Pleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh, 3-29 August @15.25
“There are now enough unemployed young people to fill every football stadium in the Premier League, with almost 200,000 left queuing outside.” This was the picture in February according to Martina Milburn of The Prince’s Trust. And sadly, six months on, that queue is continuing to grow. But, in a society such us ours, so deeply drenched in and conditioned by free-market ideals, the devastating link between unemployment and self-identity is becoming increasingly prevalent. This feeling of defeat and disaffection lies at the centre of Michael McLean’s new play The Ducks.
Following two young unemployed men (Dean Ashton & Thomas Morrison) as they embark on a voluntary work scheme to clean out their local duck pond, The Ducks charts their attempt to make sense of their situations, themselves and their place in the a society that has no need for their input. Morrison is a shy, raincoat-clad wannabe-DJ and Ashton is a macho, beer-guzzling control freak. Their anonymity is striking, uncomfortably reminding us that their story is widespread and yet cloaked, perhaps even ignored. McLean’s script effectively blends moments of rich symbolism with dark comedy but unfortunately, stutters to its finale and thus, lacks punch. Nevertheless, under the subtle yet charmingly effective direction of Tyne Rafaeli, The Ducks forces us to question our unquenchable need to correlate self-worth with our place on the economic ladder.