Grounded, Traverse - theatre review

Grounded is a one-woman drama about a fighter pilot in the US Air Force that takes us to some startling places
2 September 2013

One of the great delights of Edinburgh is catching a show at the start of the Fringe and watching it snowball into a word-of-mouth hit. Such is the fate that awaits Grounded, a one-woman drama about a fighter pilot in the US Air Force that takes us to some startling places.

We’re gripped from the first lines of George Brant’s snappy, sparky staccato script, as The Pilot (Lucy Ellinson, superb) whizzes us through her delight in her high-octane, solitary job, the sudden arrival of love and a baby. A woman thriving in such a fiercely male world is fascinating enough but Brant has way more to pack into his 60 minutes.

Back on active service, The Pilot is moved to a base outside Las Vegas and assigned to the “chair force”, to control unmanned drones. This leads to the most astonishing concept I have come across in many hours of drama: the idea of war as “shift work”, a job to which one can commute and then return home in the evenings.

Every flicker of Ellinson’s wide eyes is expressive in Christopher Haydon’s production, as the line between home and war becomes fatally blurred. Outstanding — and transferring to the Gate Theatre at the end of the month.

Grounded until Aug 25 (0131 228 1404, traverse.co.uk) and at the Gate Theatre Aug 28-Sept 21 (020 7229 0706, gatetheatre.co.uk).

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