It could be anyone's living room. Less tidy, with a layer of dust, it could be this reviewer's. In a theatre, you could be forgiven for expecting comedy, but this set represents the home of Des and Doreen James, whose daughter Cheryl died at Deep Cut Barracks, one of four young people to do so.

For most of us, it's a thankfully unimaginable possibility to lose a child. More unimaginable is not to know how it happened, and to be systematically prevented from discovering this. The James and the families of the other three have experienced exactly that over an ever increasing number of years. "Dramatic" as the events at Deep Cut and their aftermath may have been described, to turn them into theatre of genuine integrity both of content and craft is a very considerable achievement, and that is what's achieved here.

Chronicling the sorry tale of botched investigation, clumsy cover-up, outright denial and bureaucratic whitewash, Des (Ciaran McIntryre) and Doreen (Rhian Morgan) are ably supported by journalist Brain Cathcart (Robert Bowman), forensics expert Frank Swann (Robert Blythe), and Cheryl's friend Jonesy (Rhian Blythe). Nicholas Blake, Q.C., (Simon Molloy) is given the difficult task of presenting counter-argument to the weight of evidence against the findings of his report on matters at Deep Cut.

The play never loses its rootedness in the home of a bereaved family, which gives strength to the argument that the loss of four young lives should not have been dismissed as lightly as they seem very clearly to have been. Deep Cut is very aware which side it is on; this is political theatre with no need of apology, taking on official Bumbledom and political spin by careful use of both written sources and verbatim testimony to make its case. Deep Cut does so very effectively, cutting each argument officialdom has used to protect its own by demonstrating the unlikeliness of each of them.

The acting here is quite superb, given the challenges of representing the living being largely themselves. A remarkable piece of theatre one hopes, but can scarcely expect, will move the undoubted case for further investigation at least a little further forward. A last point - the script, with extensive notes and additional material, is available at the venue for £8.99. For anyone with an interest in Deep Cut and the subsequent enquiries, it's essential reading.

Times: Aug 1-23, times vary (see Fringe Programme)

Copyright Bill Dunlop August 2008

Published on EdinburghGuide.com August 2008