There's always a danger, especially in the feverish atmosphere of Edinburgh, that a venue's flagship production goes belly-up.
It's a treat, therefore, to report that the Traverse triumphs with not one but two big-ticket shows, Lynda Radley's Futureproof and this latest offering from the intriguing, occasionally frustrating Zinnie Harris. What's even more pleasing is that The Wheel celebrates the fifth birthday of the flourishing National Theatre of Scotland in some style.
Harris has explored desolate, war-torn territories in her work before but no play of hers has struck me in the same way as the fearful simplicity of The Wheel. It starts in northern Spain, late in the 19th century, where a poor but happy subsistence farming community is set to celebrate the marriage of Rosa (Olga Wehrly). Her sister Beatriz (Catherine Walsh) oversees the preparations, practical but proud. Suddenly local men arrive, their pitchforks brandished as weapons. France has invaded Spain and nothing will be the same again. When the Girl (Rebecca Benson) turns up, desperate for her exiled father, Beatriz bravely volunteers to reunite the pair.
Thus begins a journey into the heart of human cruelty. Beatriz and her mute nameless charge, soon to be joined by two other abandoned children, travel across countries and decades, through the major conflicts of the past century, in a journey reminiscent of Mother Courage. The location - and weaponry - may be different each time but man's savagery to man stays the same. The question Harris worries at is this: can we live through such barbarity and retain our humanity? A beautiful ending of tentative hope suggests we have a chance but that we'll sacrifice almost everything in the process.
Vicky Featherstone directs a sharply focused production on a striking two-tier set redolent of generic desolation. Walsh is remarkable as the reluctant heroine who flags but never quits.
Perhaps this Wheel might roll London-wards soon.
Until August 28 (0131 228 1404, traverse.co.uk).
