Nation

Ed Fringe 24

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Ed Fringe 24 -

Nation is the latest offering from YESYESNONO, written and performed by Sam Ward. It is about a town, any town, a not too large and not too small town, with butchers, bakers and… pilates teachers.

Ward comes on stage and informs us that he is the storyteller, telling us a story, and that we are the audience, that we are in a theatre. He soon recasts us though as members of the town, a town we all must picture in our minds eye. Ranciere once wrote that an emancipated spectator ‘composes her own poem with the elements of the poem before her.’ Ward clearly likes this idea (and so do I, so that’s good), and much of the show happens uniquely in each audience member’s head.

We are each given a specific role, in a community that we like just the way it is. The story ends with a dead body, we know that early on, backtracking in time and then rebuilding up to that point. We learn of a silent stranger who is grudgingly accepted into a local woman’s house, afterwards things start to go missing: buildings, roofs, whole sections of the town. At a town hall meeting with the local MP, the blame is squared solely on the stranger - things changed around here when he turned up.

The metaphor is pretty obvious straight away but the surreal nature of the text allows it to sit uncomfortably unsaid, the audience understands what is being implied and has to sit in this uncomfortable, liminal place. That is, until it is said, pretty outright, what the show is about. It’s an interesting change in tone but I think it removes the grey areas and takes away the onus on the spectator to come to their own conclusion. 

Still, the play is written beautifully and Ward is spellbinding as he weaves together the story. A story that was probably written as a kind of warning, but in the wake of the multitude of race riots across the country, has turned into more of a gut-punching reflection.

Nation is on at Summerhall until the 26th August (not 20th), tickets here.

THREE STARS

Photo by Mihaela Bodlovic