Sweat @ Citizens Theatre, Glasgow

Whatever one says about this play (and there really is so much to say), the biggest takeaway from Sweat is the set. It is nothing less than spectacular. The curtain rises to the intense orange glow of molten steel. Towering, rusty cage walls and dirty windows surround workers with hard hats, grinding metal over hot tube lights. Sparks fly off in each direction. It is a real visual feast.

But this is far more than just a pretty stage. Written by the acclaimed Lynn Nottage and taken to Broadway in 2017, Sweat explores the manifold struggles of working class people living in the rust belt of America at the dawn of the Millennium. Director Joanna Bowman now aptly brings this epic story to life in Glasgow, a city with a shared industrial history.

We begin in 2008 with two men, Chris (Rudolphe Mdlongwa) and Jason (Lewis MacDougall), newly released from prison and coming to terms with the guilt of their as-yet-untold crime. We are then transported back eight years to the local bar, where the bulk of the play is set – and a looming disaster forewarned. Friendships are fractured when Cynthia (Debbie Korley) takes a management position, finding herself compromised when devastating decisions are made at the expense of her workers.

Traversing addiction, racism, family strife and betrayal, the remarkable ensemble cast of eight take us through the depths of their hopes and hardships with a compelling authenticity. At the core of this play are the tragic consequences of people's lives under modern capitalism – it seems that Sweat will only gain more reverence in decades to come.

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Sweat, Citizens Theatre, Glasgow, run ended; Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh, 27 May - 13 Jun