In Operation Blank, by George Grant Presents at theSpace @ Surgeon’s Hall, one lowly Westminster administrator must wrangle the top brass of the British Government and convince them to do something, anything, at the end of the world.
Someone has accessed nuclear codes and bombed Copenhagen. Such a dire scenario demands a swift, competent response, but when Luke (George Grant) tries to get Westminster’s security cabinet together, the glitchy Teams meeting quickly devolves into superficial nonsense. They wonder if they should flee abroad (Bali? Mykonos?), they wonder how other governments are responding on social media (Russia congratulated them???? The US still wants Greenland), in fact, all they accomplish is releasing a story blaming Meghan Markle for the nuclear attack.
The production combines one live onstage human alongside a cast of pre-recorded characters also played by Grant. Luke is the straight man among all the farcical career politicians (and one intrusive female interviewer), though it does seem, compared to the machinations of ‘Big Papa’ or ‘Big Toff Geoff’, he doesn’t actually understand political manoeuvring because it is simply too shallow. The wryness of Operation Blank draws on Grant’s own real-world experience of loneliness in his own career, something anyone who has had a desk job can sympathise with… particularly the catty Teams calls.
As a performer, Grant is genuine in each character: not just Luke but as the caricatures of the politicians, mostly using simple costume pieces like glasses or a lack of shirt, but sometimes also using filters like a talking potato. Grant is well aware that film requires smaller performances compared to the grandiosity onstage. In the audience, you can compare his two acting styles, and the characters on the Teams call rely on subtle gestures and dialect changes to distinguish them, while in person, Grant is bold and big. This is Grant’s debut as a performer, as well as writer, director, and self-producer, but he definitely understands the medium.
Despite Grant’s virtuosic performance, the plot itself drags sometimes. I can’t spoil the ending, but the Teams call seems more real than some other aspects of the show, while a later scene, a Q2 performance review, is much more abstract and tragic. Certainly, by this point, we understand the meaninglessness of white-collar existence, but too much time is spent lingering on raging against the dying of the light, when there could be more emotional contrast. Not that the show needs a happy ending, but it does need more tonal variation in Luke’s narrative.
For the Teams call, though, the show is well worth attending. Operation Blank is an enjoyable first offering, so see it at theSpace @ Surgeon’s Hall this Fringe, and we’ll look forward to more from Grant next season.
Listings and ticket information can be found here
