Crash and Burn

It's a strong premise: terrorist hijacks executive jet on the way to COP26 and threatens a disaster. For me, the drama got lost in pursuit of the ecological message. There were a lot of speeches which interrupted a tense, threatening situation and stretched dramatic licence. I felt the ending was a letdown and the rest of the audience were unsure it had finished. Why not tack on the sound of an explosion as they go to blackout? It would add another twist. The set was simple but effective, a row of lights on the floor neatly identified the plane's aisle. The director made some interesting choices. In a cabin split into two camps, one mimed action while the other spoke. There was an unnecessary mime at another point, I'm not sure what was happening. These distracted from the dialogue. Each actor successfully gave credible life to their character. The show has many enjoyable elements but disappoints as a whole.

Derek Benfield