EDINBURGH 2015 - BWW Reviews: UNDERMINED, Greenside at Royal Terrace, August 22 2015

2015 marks the thirtieth anniversary of the end of 1984/5 miners' strike, an event that has left a huge social legacy and provided a rich seam of material for many artistic works since, including both the film and musical versions of Billy Elliot, and Matthew Warchus' wonderful 2014 hit Pride. It's fair to say that Undermined has big boots to fill, but it certainly manages to stand tall in them.

The play follows the story of Dale, a young South Yorkshire miner, as he experiences the events of the year of the strike along with his band of mates, from initial elation and optimism over pints at the local miners' welfare, to righteous anger at the notorious Battle of Orgreave, to the bitter end of the struggle. Simple even by Fringe standards, it's just one actor, a chair, a pint, and a great soundtrack of hits contemporary to the story. It needs nothing more though, as writer and actor Danny Mellor single-handedly evokes the events of the story, bringing a multitude of characters to life in a performance that is pure coal-powered electricity.

Mellor wisely avoids making the story a grim tragedy or dry historical piece, focusing more on the confident passion and strong communal bonds of the young men he portrays, caught up in the excitement of being on the right side in what was once called "the greatest struggle on earth". This results in plenty of comedy in the play, for example, in the various excuses Dale and friends use in an attempt to convince police who stop their car that they are most definitely not off to picket. Some of the laughs were not even for the script, as Mellor harangues a pair of latecomers as undercover police officers without missing a beat, commenting on how successful they are at being inconspicuous!

There are also moments of great pathos, particularly when Dale discovers the reason behind his friend's apparent betrayal. The audience can't help but feel the resulting helplessness against a monolithic establishment, so intent on destroying "the enemy within" that they withhold even the most basic of dignities.

Mellor's magnetic presence and seemingly boundless energy do not let up throughout the whole 50 minutes, keeping the audience transfixed throughout and thoroughly earning the first standing ovation I've seen at this year's Fringe. An excellent dramatisation of an immensely important period of modern history, and a great piece of contemporary theatre in its own right, Undermined is unmissable.

Undermined is at Greenside @ Royal Terrace from August 24th to 29th at 18:30.