Assembly@George Street, but performed at Milnes Bar, Hanover Street until 30 August, 3:30 pm & 6:30 pm
Site-specific theatre is one of the delights of the Fringe. If all the world’s a stage, Edinburgh is easily among the cities with the most uniquely beautiful, atmospheric sets.
Yet while a cosy pub is the perfect setting for Royal & Derngate’s production of Honest, part of the play’s appeal is that it could be taking place in any pub, anywhere in the country. The intimate setting and lack of theatrical paraphernalia make the monologue feel more like shared chat with a mate in the pub. This is the intention, and it certainly adds to the realism and enhances the audience’s ability to relate to the main character, Dave. Of course, the illusion takes a little while to establish: at first it’s hard to shake the feeling of being talked at, or the sense that some reply is required in this one-sided conversation. But soon enough Dave pulls you into his world, and any awkwardness fades as the audience becomes engrossed in his narrative.
Actor Trystan Gravelle is perfectly cast in the role of Dave. Well-spoken and unassumingly handsome, he could be any of the nameless, faceless hordes of government employees. Though much of the script consists of Dave moaning about his job and co-workers, he still manages to come across as a likeable guy. As his name suggests, he’s an everyman figure, a typical bloke in a pub whose bitter amazement at the incompetence and inanity surrounding him will be a familiar feeling to many.
Yet Dave is not merely an archtype: he is a well-developed and endearingly grumpy character in his own right. Clearly too intelligent and thoughtful a person to be trapped within such mind-numbing bureaucracy, he vents his pent-up frustration in a series of cattily humorous observations on the more absurd elements of the civil service. In the process he reveals the emptiness at the core of his own life, an emotional stupor he combats with profanity and alcohol. Gravelle’s deft performance brings Dave’s inner workings touchingly to life, displaying the vulnerability and yearning discontent behind the mocking facade and easily leaving the audience both tickled and moved.
D.C. Moore’s script is both bleak and hilarious, a cutting look at the trials of the modern working man. Younger or more sensitive viewers may wish to approach it with care, for Dave’s exposed thoughts are not always polite or politically correct. Most people, however, will find his reckless honesty refreshing and easily empathise with his vexations. Fortunately, the piece ends on a note that hints of eventual redemption, reassuring the audience that all is not lost for Dave or those who identify with his plight.
4 stars
