13:25, Mon 22nd – Sun 28th August 2016 at Bedlam Theatre, Edinburgh Fringe Festival
Summer Vacation

"Captain sir, contact's engine noise ceased. We are hearing breaking up noises. Metallic noises and hull popping... She's on her way down..."

'Kursk' is inspired by the real 2000 sinking of the Russian submarine K-141 Kursk and is set on an imagined British submarine on a covert mission in the Barents Sea.

Over the phone, the crew say their final farewells to their loved ones at home as the submarine sets off for their three month voyage. Similar farewells are echoed by Russian crew-members setting off aboard the Kursk.

We get an insight into life in the claustrophobic confines of a submarine. We learn of the politics and military action, namely the crew’s secret mission; to spy and gain intelligence on the Kursk. But we also see the beautifully human stories of the crew living in tight confines for months on end. They receive ‘familygrams’ - messages from home - they write poetry, and CassanovaKen gets caught wanking in the toilet.

But when a huge explosion is felt, the British submarine jolts and the crew are thrown into chaos. The Kursk has ruptured and it sinks to the seabed. The captain must decide whether to ignore their secret military mission and save the Russian submariners, or obey orders and leave them to die.