EDINBURGH 2014 - BWW Reviews: BLOOD ORANGE, Summerhall, August 1 2014
A far right protest in the Scottish town of Dumfries inspires this tale of a young man caught up in a world of skin heads and racist violence. Presented by Electric Theatre Workshop, Blood Orange is an often confrontational piece of theatre, utilising the aesthetics of clubbing to create an hour that barely gives its audience or performers time to breathe as it hurtles along.
Xander is grieving the loss of his mum and resentful that his father's shop has closed after the arrival of an Asian-run shop round the corner. On a night out, his vulnerability attracts Mole, a skinhead who lures him into an insidious web of racist intrigue. Xander's hangover the next morning brings with it memories of promising to enact a dark revenge on the Asian family he blames for his troubles. The story unfolds in a few scattered scenes of poetic dialogue surrounded by narrative monologues and physical performance.
The script is a little hit and miss, with some very effective sequences having a sort of urban fantasy quality to them. At other times, however, with lines about feeding unborn children lollipops of intolerance, it seemed to be more than a little overblown. With the frenetic, stream of consciousness style of the dialogue, the show became a little cluttered with sideplots, particularly that of Xander's girlfriend's constantly reinforced anorexia. The inclusion of rape in the plot also seemed gratuitous, poorly developed and unnecessary.
The performances, however, were uniformly strong, and the young cast's energy and focus does not let up for a single moment. The design, by Ryan Smith, stood out, with some very effective use of projection on to pieces of set carried by the performers. Viewers should also be aware that the final scene of the play makes extended use of strobe flashes.
Blood Orange is a piece that shows a good deal of potential, if not fully realised. With more focus around the central plot and reworking of some weaker passages of script, it could be an effective piece of contemporary Scottish theatre. The direction, design and performances all provide evidence of promising talent in this pacy and energetic work.
Blood Orange is on at 7.45pm each day at Summerhall until August 24th (not 11th).
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