Grace Saif in A Fine Idea [Beatrice Updegraff]

ICE&FIRE specialise in producing gritty plays that confront global human rights issues, and Christine Bacon’s A Fine Idea – a theatrical response to political economist Jason Hickel’s book The Divide – is no exception.

Set in 2024, idealistic Brit Jo (Ella Bryant), arrives in Kenya “with fire in her belly” to work for a development aid agency. Her grandfather, Ben (Kevin Trainor), was an early pioneer in the field and coined the term “international development” for President Truman’s inaugural speech, so she’s proud to follow in his footsteps.

Her boss Laura (Georgina Rich) is more cynical, aware of the compromises involved. But when Jo sees Kenyans protesting against their government’s tax hikes, only to be met with tear gas and violence, she’s forced to reckon with a reality that tests everything she once believed.

She befriends Kala (Grace Saif), an activist who understands how Kenya’s predicament is tied to the debt owed to the richer countries offering them aid, and who suffers for her activism.

A Fine Idea offers a timely reminder that global inequality is worsening, and that international aid often obscures the fact that poorer countries are part of an economic system that treats them unfairly. Just a few billionaires hold as much wealth as the poorest half of humanity.

Some may find Bacon’s intelligent political play a touch didactic. Even so, it’s a searing and timely examination of where we are today. The appearance of Florence Nightingale (Rich) and Ben in Jo’s present feels contrived, yet Charlotte Westenra’s tense production proves compelling and the four-strong cast is terrific.

Warmly recommended.

Until July 4
arcolatheatre.com/