EDINBURGH 2014: BWW Reviews: SILK ROAD, Assembly George Square, August 23 2014

Silk Road is a website which is kind of like an illegal eBay. You can access it with an encrypted browser and have access to Class A narcotics which are sent out via Royal Mail.

Bruce is 19 and unemployed. After a few life knocks such as losing his first girlfriend and being sacked from his job as a DJ, he discovers Silk Road. With the help of his nan he sets up his own drug business using her homemade tea cosies as a cover for the sales.

I found Silk Road a bit up and down. It got off to a good start but lost me somewhere in the middle where it seemed to drag. It picked up towards the end and almost made me cry. This is a one-man play and James Baxter does an incredible job. The use of lighting is excellent and is used to highlight when he is switching between characters. Baxter is skilled with adopting the mannerisms of each character and he really gave a fantastic performance.

There are definitely some interesting ideas in this piece but a show that comes in at 50 minutes shouldn't really drag and it feels like there was a few points that should have been explored further.

Silk Road runs at Assembly George Square Studios until August 25th.

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