Gilt
Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh

Sean Cannon

Theatre companies come and go. This can be for a whole host of reasons. The most painful but undeniably prevalent is of course lack of funding. (Imagine a world where theatrical success was based on merit alone.) Right now in Scotland the issue is raising its ugly head once again. It is not as if the theatre-going public is spoilt for choice.

7:84 has been one of the leading theatre companies in Scotland for many years, consistently producing work of the highest quality, and with a strong ethos and political message. As we endure a time of static politics under a government without strong opposition, 7:84's socialist message is as essential as ever.

Yet the funding that keeps the company running is in question. It is very likely that when the Scottish Arts Council next releases its list of funded companies, one of the major players in Scottish theatre will be conspicuous by its absence. I for one hope and pray that 7:84 will be at the very top of the list. Here in Zinnie Harris's production the company stakes its claim, fittingly with a play dominated by the theme of money.

Gilt tells the stories of seven characters searching for love, understanding and ultimately personal gratification, both emotional and financial. In the first scene a man and a woman meet under strange and cold circumstances, and proceed to fall in love, or at least they profess to fall in love. Their union is uncomfortable, both for them and for us. This is played out well and begins to draw the audience into their story, eager to dissect these characters and understand why they are so desperate to fall in love.

Unfortunately the audience's empathy is not rewarded. The use of time-jumps becomes annoying: you long just to revel in the subtle twists and turns in the dialogue as these two lonely people try to persuade themselves and each other to 'Hold me, just hold me'. But the scene does reach a satisfactory conclusion, and it is then that we are thrust into the jolting rhythms of the piece. Each character we meet is rewarding, and all are beautifully played by an excellent cast. The action moves fast and keeps the audience constantly alert and entertained. The stories are built up with skill and the dialogue delivered with warmth and with passion.

The set is bare and cold. The music that interrupts the action is the kind of soulless house/techno hybrid that threatens to become the soundtrack to our hi-tech and unstoppably manic social script. The costume is unimaginative and starkly real. We are thrust into a world of empty relationships, of pain and of self-satisfaction. The piece as a whole throws these themes at you, asks you the question, forces you to address the burning feeling inside that you are no different to any of these characters and in this way succeeds in being a didactic and meaningful production.

Unfortunately I had the overwhelming feeling that it could have gone further, that with more attention to the story rather than the political ideas, more could have been achieved. Too many times during the production I found myself wishing to see more, for a relationship to be explored further, for a character to reach a more satisfying conclusion.

There is so much going on that opportunities were lost. Perhaps having a team of three writers, all full of ideas and energy, is too much for a relatively short production. There is an overbearing sense of clutter, of incomplete thoughts, of situations not fully explored, and the development of the complex and fascinating characters gives way too often to the need to deal with too many things on one stage within an hour and a half.

The production has without doubt left an indelible mark on me. I was both affected and inspired. It is a play full of the darker side of humanity, but a play that forces you to look at yourself and be aware of your humanity and the need to monitor constantly your own actions, as far too often we act without thought in the desperate need to satisfy ourselves. It can be a cold and empty world but far too often it is by our own doing. We do have the power to change things, even if it begins within ourselves.

Run over, but Gilt can be seen at the Soho Theatre, London, 3 - 8 November.