ED2015 4/5 Reviews ED2015 Theatre Reviews

Crash (Traverse Theatre Company)

By Jon Stapley | Published on Wednesday 19 August 2015

It would have been easy for Andy Duffy’s poetic one-man play to simply demonise its financial trader protagonist; it’s not as though the world has any spare love for bankers. The play, however, is smarter than that. Over an hour we see the trader attempt to rebuild his shattered life, actor Jamie Michie patiently constructing a portrait of a man rendered incapable of meaningful self-expression. It’s not an easy watch – save for some subtle lighting and sparsely effective sound design, we are alone with just the banker and his story. As it builds and builds towards something dark and terrible, Michie allows that icy self-possession to crack and we glimpse the possible humanity within. The final line will linger with you.

Traverse Theatre, until 29 Aug.
tw rating 4/5 | [Jon Stapley]