National Theatre Scotland: The Enemy
Eden Court Theatre - 28/10/21
This new adaptation of Ibsen’s classic play, ‘An Enemy of the People’, has undergone many adaptations including by Arthur Miller, a film version starring Steve McQueen and a version by Schaubühne Theatre in 2018 which was banned in mainland China by the censorship officers. This new version written by Kieran Hurley set in a post-industrial Scottish town brings the play into the digital age. A massive new leisure development promises to bring money and jobs to a forgotten population, but a murky secret is revealed by a scientist, sister of the local provost. Powerful themes of truth, compromise, corruption, and the power of social media are explored in this stunning piece of theatre.
The strong cast of six stride the stage with passion as the conflict between the two sisters escalates into chaos at the launch of the project at the local town hall. Having personally lived through a few local authority development schemes (Thames Gateway Corporation! Disney Studios at Rainham! Essex, Lower Thames Crossing! the London Resort in Swanscombe Kent!), I note that most come to nothing through public outcry. This was totally believable and sadly happens over and over again. But how many political and personal lives are ruined in the process and how many moral choices are made along the way?
The set cleverly used a minimal set. The old red velvet chairs falling apart, seen in so many council chambers and fold up metal tables beloved by village halls. Reused kitchen and desk from previous productions, none of your swishy expensive west end paraphernalia. The Play is the Thing!
The actors use Zoom, laptops, and mobiles to communicate, performed on stage and via a large screen above when they were not face-to-face. Initially it felt tricky but proved an effective way to tell an old/modern story. It also showed the online abuse flying through the airwaves, stirring up hate and misinformation. Where have we seen this before? Cleverly directed by Finn Den Hertog with outstanding performances by the two sister protagonists, Hannah Donaldson and Gabriel Quigley, especially their confrontation at the project launch. There were excellent supporting performances, particularly by Taqi Nazeer as the upbeat blogger and local personality. Although perfectly catching the schoolgirl daughter with a true conscience, Elena Redmond rushed her lines for us older audience members. Perhaps that was the point! All power to the techies and actors who managed to sync their performance with the technology. A new course on this skill will emerge at drama schools I suspect. Thought provoking, passionate and at times funny, catch it at Perth if you can. Hopefully, it will tour nationwide in the future bringing this important piece of Scottish Theatre to the whole of the UK. This show, running for an hour and half without interval, was a classy return to straight drama for Eden Court and the limited audience gave it the response it deserved.
Playing in Perth 3rd – 6th November
