The Players of Diadon follows a small troupe of actors who act out the story of their king’s ascension to the throne every night for fifty years. When the king grows tired of seeing the same show over and over again and demands something new, the players must scramble to come up with a new production or face execution.
Though it bills itself as a dark comedy, I would argue that The Players of Diadon is more of a play with comedic moments and a few outlandish characters, rather than a true comedy. It does have funny moments, but the majority of the play is taken up with anxiety over the impending deadline handed down to the players by the king. This would be more impactful if the audience were given a reason to truly care for the characters, and given evidence to believe that they are truly, as one of them claims, ‘a family’. Given that, by the end of the play, the attempt to create a play of their own is abandoned in favour of another solution, the time dedicated to that could instead have been used to further develop the characters and deepen their relationships with one another in order to build the stakes for the final scene.
However, by the end of the show it becomes clear that The Players of Diadon has something to say about the way fictionalised narratives can become popular narratives that in time are seen as the whole truth. Much of the story is concerned with the truth behind the play the players are forced to perform every evening, an extremely interesting idea that brings the slightly haphazard production together in a satisfying finale.
The production is fairly sparse, but good use is made of the props that are present on stage. The sound design is strong too, particularly the use of an onstage guitarist in the final scene, though the floor of the Other Yin at Patter House is rather creaky and this was sometimes distracting during dramatic or tense moments.
The Players of Diadon is a strong first showing for Hideout Theatre at the Fringe and indicates a great deal of potential. May this show be just the first from this company to make its way to the Edinburgh Fringe!
