There's a clue in the set. The audience walks in to chaos - tables and chairs hung from above, a chair lying sideways on the floor, the contents of a bag fanned out where they fell, a pair of black stilettos. Someone's life is a mess.
The someone is Robin (Nicole Cooper), recently appointed Transport Ministry in the Scottish Government, and she's experiencing some curious symptoms. Maggie (Beth Marshall), her overworked GP, says such things are normal when women become perimenopausal, James (Johnny Panchaud) thinks she's not quite rational, isn't listening to him and taking his valuable advice/instruction. Robin is in politics to bring about change, but this wasn't a change she was anticipating.
To be herself, both as a politician and a woman, Robin is having to fight. Advisers, the medical profession and her own party colleagues all want to tell her what to do. But Robin knows what she wants to do, to say, and how to say it. And suddenly these unexpected 'symptoms' offer the chance to be someone she wasn't before. Will the powers that be allow it though?
The Spark is a fast paced comedy of miscommunication, misogyny and missed opportunities. Can politicians ever really make a difference? Especially when women aren't listened to? Three excellent interweaving performances, with Cooper at the centre of the confusion, leave the audience grasping at the straws of contemporary politics. It sometimes goes a bit heavy handed on the metaphor side of things, but never ceases to be entertaining. An enjoyable end to the PPP season.
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