The Gunpowder Plot is having its moment at the Fringe. Emma Howlett returns to the Fringe with a confused and confusing play. It’s difficult to ascertain what The Plot wants to say. Two brothers are trapped in a limbo, perhaps purgatory, awaiting their judgement. At the same time, seemingly, an unnamed playwright (you can guess who) is writing a new piece to diffuse the suspicions that have started to surround him. We travel back and forth across the timeline, examining how an event that never took place is still defining an entire nation.
Sophie Kean and Abby McCann lead this historical intrigue. They are compelling in their performances, introducing a variety of characters that amuse and entertain. A dark whimsy surrounds the project, but there’s very little substance to it. Howlett toys with form and structure, but never settles on anything more than expensive costumes (Ellie Wintour) and glitzy visuals in what becomes a mere exercise in style. The script is poetic and the production value is truly epic for a Fringe show, but it’s unnecessarily and unjustifiably pretentious.
Howlett tries to reframe the contemporary political discourse by shifting the historical period, bringing up patriotism, betrayal, treason, censorship, family, devotion, and so on and so forth. It’s very noble, and we can see how relevant it could be. However, the result is weak and meandering. It’s all very beautiful, starting from the choice of language all the way to the set and lighting, but where’s the real meat?
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