Cry of the Mountain

This well intentioned but misguided piece of documentary theatre centres on the issue of moutaintop removal mining in the Appalachian mountains of West Virginia.

Coming to Edinburgh following its premiere in the States, it’s performed by actress Adelind Horan who, accompanied by a talented banjo player, voices verbatim testimonies from 13 people affected in various ways by the issue of mountaintop removal.

Everyone from mine executives to hillbillies gets a say, and as expected it’s the stories of the impact on ‘ordinary’ people that hit home the hardest. But none of the testimonies provide the show with a much-needed emotional core, and Horan’s depictions sink too quickly into caricature.

This is a clearly well-meaning piece of theatre about an important issue (about which I had very little knowledge prior to seeing it). But that doesn’t excuse the over-simplistic structuring and resultant lack of dramatic engagement. Nice cookies though.