Review: This is why you should see experimental new play Wildfire Road in Sheffield

As you take your seat in the round at the Playhouse, the stage is already set for Wildfire Road with the cast already in place on the aeroplane and silently giving you a taste of who their character is before you’ve even had a chance to survey your surroundings.

The inner-most thoughts of the five passengers, air stewardess and two pilots on a 747 destined for Tokyo are revealed through amusing monologues, which become progressively more serious as they learn their flight has been hijacked, while wild fires ravage – and spread across – Europe.

The collective includes a pair of acquaintances who decided to travel to Japan together, shortly after meeting in the type of location where all good romances start, a Wetherspoons pub; honeymooners whose roles as pilot and passenger see them separated at a critical moment; a middle manager with wanderlust and a dedicated, but world-weary, air stewardess who does her best to keep everyone calm in the most distressing of circumstances.

We begin to learn who each of those on-board the seemingly unlucky flight are, through discussions about which one of the passengers was first to notice something strange about the hijacker, their lives immediately before the flight, and how they each hoped to spend their time in Japan.

And with a running time of just an hour, quick characterisation is needed, but despite this – the dialogue and soliloquies feel about as natural as it is possible to in such an unusual set of circumstances as a hijacked plane.

The play is punctuated with surreal, amusing – and at times delightfully daft – syncronised dance numbers, some of which stand alone, while others seamlessly feed into the previous scene.

Creative staging, including overhead strip lights which reflect both what is happening on-board the plane and the emotions of its inhabitants, and a television screen that goes from stating the name of the character talking, to indicating a change in location, to highlighting important parts of dialogue, makes the most of the space and rewards observant audience members.

The drama begins to ramp up as the audience begins to move towards learning what the hijacker’s intentions are.

Comprised of Raj Bajaj; Siubhan Harrison; Phoebe Naughton; Robyn Sinclair; Mark Weinmann and Zoe West, the cast are very talented, and will keep you captivated throughout.

Wildfire Road is experimental, fun and thought-provoking. It runs at Sheffield Playhouse until March 18. More details here.