Waiting for Lefty

Pleasance Courtyard
6-30 August, 13.30

In this time of economic and political instability, watching a play about disillusionment with the powers-that-be seems apt. Clifford Odets’ 1935 play tussles with the duties and irresponsibilities of a labour strike, and the King’s Players bombard us with these issues from the start, quite literally, by meeting the audience outside and taking us into their union meeting.

These semi-immersive ensemble scenes are the production’s highlight, with the mob mentality giving the actors a confidence that sometimes pales in the more exposed vignettes. These scenes take us into the individual lives of the workers, while the other actors remain at the side, effectively conveying the dual weight of solidarity and suspicion that inevitably emerges from a community forged only through collective weakness. Stand-out performances are matched by less compelling ones as the youthful actors occasionally struggle to portray the gravitas of individual hardships. However, this curtailed version of Odets’ play is nevertheless a gripping insight into the morality of dissent.

- Miranda Fay Thomas