One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest @ TheSpace on Niddry St

It’s never easy to perform in the shadow of an all-time classic. Certain expectations are immediately present in the minds of the audience and it can be hard to overcome them. Fourth Monkey’s choice to adapt Ken Kesey’s novel (and subsequent multi-Oscar winning film, from which this show is heavily inspired), overhaul most of the characters’ genders and move the setting to Thatcher’s Britain is nothing if not ambitious. There is great potential to be had from such changes – possibilities of exploring repressed feminism and sexuality in the age of the Iron Lady – but little is done with the concept. In the end it can’t help but come across as a gimmick.

The cast are a mixed bunch, some lacking the assurance and motivation their characters needed. Most of the patients were weakly defined outside of the main characters, although they worked well with what little they had. Nurse Ratched, dressed in trademark Maggie navy with the same pitch of voice, didn’t have the much needed quietly sinister edge to make her truly tyrannical, while McMurphy was basically a female Jack Nicholson.

The second half works far better than the first half, which feels too broad, but there are laughs to be had throughout. The final 10 minutes truly hit hard but makes the inconsistency of the show more evident. While Fourth Monkey may have bitten off more than they can chew, the end result is still entertaining and worth a look.