Roam

Published Monday 10 April 2006 at 16:05 by Thom Dibdin

Strange scenes greet those arriving at Edinburgh Airport during Grid Iron’s tenth anniversary site-specific production - their first co-production with the NTS. Cleaners with angel wings, people waiting with cards for, amongst many others, Godot and the occupants of the evening flight from mysterious airline, RoamAir.

It is partly a contemplation on the nature of international air travel which starts on the dedicated bus to the performance. Philip Pinski’s brilliantly judged on-board soundtrack, the RoamAir branding around the airport, movement around the departure lounges and fragments of the action all leave you to consider what is called, in cliched terms, the global village.

Elsewhere, this brings out a pair of narrative strands which directly challenge our perception of the international status quo.

At the check-in desk are the refugees of Scottish civil war, bound for the safe havens of Sarejevo and the like. Rwandans and Bosnains are among the lucky few guaranteed passage. Scots have to wheedle and bribe their way onto the plane.

In the departure lounge, the dreams of the passengers on a delayed flight are brought to life in a way that examines the nature of Nationhood. All the way through, itinerant musicians Kerieva McCormick and Galvarino Cerón-Carrasco help keep real airport life out of RoamAir’s charmed bubble.

This is an utterly compelling production. The ensemble acting is superb, with Andrew Clarke, John Kazek and Itxaso Moreno standing out. But it is the technical support of sound, light and, critically, stage management, that ensures it is a triumph.