"YOU don’t know what to do about us, do you?” says a member of the Abode, an extreme right-wing cell in Davey Anderson’s lively new play performed here by a 13-strong cast from Pepperdine University.
Students from the Californian school have collaborated with Scottish playwrights since 1985, around the time this swift ensemble piece is set, aesthetically at least. This is a version of the present day; a time of Trump, Brexit and the rise of the far right; when the shame hitherto associated with extremism has lost its power.
Anderson has been following the interplay between hard right values and internet subcultures since #Gamergate – a harassment campaign against women video game developers in 2014 – but its roots go back into the dubious “pick-up artist” networks of the early 2000s.
Here too, as in Penelope Skinner’s gusty alt right one-hander Angry Alan, reactionary politics are weaponised by sexual frustration and low pay. Seeking tips online for speaking to girls, 20-year-old Samuel “tumbles down a rabbit hole, hurtling through casual misogyny into full blown white supremacism”. The Abode, however, is a world where digital technology does not exist, the “manosphere” being created by chatter broadcast on secret frequencies to walkie talkies.
Less reflective drama than a teenage, Stranger Things-style adventure fable, there’s a creeping sense of dread here; these fine young actors are of the age when these questions must feel most acute. Elegantly directed by Cathy Thomas-Grant, The Abode tries to do very many things over its disturbing, entertaining 75 minutes – and largely succeeds. That the end feels unsatisfying is appropriate. There are no answers here, but, as is hinted, reason and humanity are good places to start looking.
Until Aug 16, Underbelly, Cowgate, 12.30pm (75mins), £9 to £11. Tel: 0131 510 0395. Tickets: bit.ly/TheAbode @andersondavey
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