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| Edinburgh : A&E : Theatre: Reviews |
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Theatre listings > Epic -
British Premiere The message here follows the myth of the curse of Macha; a goddess forced to run a race against a horse when she is heavy with twins. She gives birth on the finishing line and curses the men of Ulster to labour-like pains whenever they are in greatest need. The perversion of intensive farming and men's greed in general, is punished by the plague brought to the land by a black market trade over the border. Mimicking the biological destruction, a virus infects the civil service files when a degraded civil servant Ray 'accidentally' opens one of those emails we all get warned about on a regular basis. Reliably strong and even, the four performers each play between five and nine characters with considerable ease and remarkable depth of characterisation. Sinéad Douglas deserves particular commendation for her range of female characters from young teenage girls of varying backgrounds and maturities to ancient women farmers campaigning for fair compensation and the high powered journalist, following the story as it unfolds. Epic is a lesson in clear presentation. With a company of only four actors
and a simple set, moved by the actors to suit their purposes, they create
an array of times, places and atmospheres. However the sheer number of
storylines introduced in the first half makes the action somewhat difficult
to follow. And does the volume on the narrator's microphone and the techno
blasting out at regular intervals need to be quite so loud? That said
this is an intelligent approach to the group's agenda of exploring myth
and tragedy in modern life. Thought provoking and intriguing, despite
its excessive storying in the first part it becomes a strong piece of
theatre. Theatre listings >>
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