The successful, riveting play transfers to the National

Fresh from critically acclaimed runs in Cardiff and Edinburgh in 2015, Gary Owen's reworking of the infamous Greek myth is set in the eponymous austerity hit district of Cardiff, with the main character Effie played by Sophie Melville, reprising the role for this transfer to the National. We follow the drab, soulless and aimless life of Effie, a chain-smoking, forever-hungover unemployed 20-something who is stuck in a town on the slide. With seemingly nothing to live for, she is granted a sliver of hope when she meets a wounded soldier in a nightclub.

Fighting the good fight?

After spending an intimate night with him, Effie is left realising that perhaps her life isn't as stagnant as she first thought, and makes a valiant attempt to put her life right. However as the austerity cuts start to bite, with shops boarded up and the hospital facing drastic cuts around her, the futility of her situation, and that of others around her lead to a stunning revelation and events in the closing minutes, which finally reveals her link to the tragic Iphigenia of legend. It's not so much a call to action, as it is an order to take up arms.