Beyond Caring, National Theatre ****

Rarely have I been left feeling so uncomfortable by a piece of theatre. The National is hosting the Yard's play about zero hours contracts which interweave 5 characters and their stories around an extraordinarily inhumane job, much as each character has to weave their life around in order to fit doing extra hours at the same rate or having payment be moved five days. This production is raw and edgy with all the rough edges left on. Not all the dialogue was heard as one cast member is very softly spoken which, whilst it is obviously a dramatic device, it means the piece doesn't always have the effect it hoped for. Apart from this, it is perfect programming from the National and shows that it isn't scared of potentially difficult to sell shows that address issues that are rarely talked about in theatre, let alone in such a gritty way.