PPP: The Wolves at the Door
★★★☆☆ Well-intentioned
Traverse: Tue 24 – Sat 28 Sept 2024
Review by Hugh Simpson
The Wolves at the Door by Jack Hunter, the latest Play, Pie and a Pint offering from Òran Mór at the Traverse, is a piece of politically-informed theatre that has heart but is ultimately lacking in bite.
Daniel (Ciaran Stewart) is struggling to make ends meet after being made redundant by a tech company. His one-bedroom flat is damp, meaning his daughter (who he only sees at weekends) has to sleep on the sofa. He has fallen behind on his energy payments, and so his flat is visited by balaclava-clad debt collector Malc (Ben Ewing) and electrician Sussanne (Beth Marshall), who intend to forcibly fit a prepayment meter for ‘Caledonian Power’.
Ciaran Stewart and Beth Marshal. Pic: Tommy Ga-Ken Wan
It is an intriguing premise and a strong set-up but – despite Hunter’s economical writing and the constantly inventive direction of Amie Burns Walker – much of what follows is formulaic. Malc is hard-hearted and unsympathetic, Sussanne is more understanding and helpful, and Daniel is just trying to get by.
The subject of businesses exploiting people’s misfortune to create profits for shareholders (and bribing their workers to help bring this about) is undoubtedly an important one and the production’s heart is clearly in the right place. However, too many observations from both sides of the political spectrum come across as platitudes, while jokes fail to have the desired impact. There is nothing wrong with a play having a political message, but it needs to have more energy and engagement than this achieves.
strong performances
The parallels between the version of the Three Little Pigs Daniel tells his daughter over Zoom and the all-too-real ‘wolves’ who come calling are neatly made, however, in a play whose structure is sound.
The performances are undoubtedly strong; Ewing’s Malc is particularly impressive with his youthful, half-confident swagger, dubious personal habits and poor quality patter. Unfortunately, the character is too stereotypical, with his explanation of his political views coming from ‘TikTok and GB News’ seeming just too convenient.
Ben Ewing. Pic: Tommy Ga-Ken Wan
Stewart and Marshall’s characters are more nuanced, the discussions they have about families suggesting that there is a different, more subtle play lurking beneath the surface of this one. Marshall manages to invest her character with considerable depth, while Stewart does justice to the justifiable anger of a character who emerges as more complex than first appears.
Heather Grace Currie’s set is a much larger and sturdier affair than is usual for PPP, which may explain the move to Traverse One. This is not necessarily an advantage for a play that would surely have more impact in a more intimate space.
As it is, there is much here to commend, even if it never quite convinces.
Running time: 45 minutes (no interval)
Traverse Theatre (Traverse 1), 10 Cambridge St, EH1 2ED
Tuesday 24 – Saturday 28 September 2024
Daily at 1.00 pm
Details and tickets: Book here.
ENDS
