Theatre / Enron, by Lucy Prebble. At the Mill Theatre until August 9.  Reviewed by JOE WOODWARD.

There is something so familiar in Enron.

Peters and Waterman outlined a philosophy of business management in 1982 through their classic In Search of Excellence.

While much of it dealt with the positive culture necessary for management excellence, it also pointed to the idea that Knowledge Management was the key to success. Enron took this to extremes; departing from actually producing anything and building an imaginative house of sound and fury signifying NOTHING! Prebble’s play and the Mill production is actually less satire and more exposition of this very notion.

The integrated design of the production by Soham Apte (set), Caitlin Hodder (costumes), Andrew Snell (lighting) and Damian Ashcroft (sound) was a true marvel. The intimate theatre transformed into a sculptural physical and metaphorical location providing a connective platform for a most engaging performance.

It made seemingly dry and factual information and history truly come alive with all the dilemmas and callous implications for the inevitable collapse.

Jay James Moody grabbed the initiative in the opening scenes to establish a complex though totally narcissistic character in Jeffry Skilling, the head of Enron. Lexi Sekuless provided the dialectical tension within the company’s choices through a skilled and eloquent portrayal of Claudia Roe; a character combining two actual players in the Enron saga. There were electric scenes between these two protagonists.

The arbitrator figure of Jen Lay was played with consummate power by Andrea Close who was able to dominate the stage in every scene where she appeared. Andy Fastow, another major culprit in the tradition of Iago, was played with precision and cunning by Oliver Bailey who also managed to draw out the character’s own vulnerability.

However, the fun and satire was largely sketched out by an exuberant ensemble group of Rhys Hekimian, Timmy Sekuless and Alana Denham-Preston. They provided the necessary absurd connections in the story. The use of puppet heads might have seemed strange; that is until one realised these were actually originally part of the Enron promotions devised by Skilling himself.

Enron is certainly a most ambitious production. It integrates so many theatre elements while remaining largely true to the actual events and philosophies surrounding Enron’s growth and demise. Audiences might well find the show entertaining while also instructive. This is particularly relevant now as Donald Trump has his “big beautiful bill” signed into law and adding billions to the national debt.

My only criticism relates to the lack of physical shaping relating to the way powerful people move, use props such as wine glasses and how they often portray an inner stillness that comes with personal belief and determination. The world revolves around them. A greater sharpness in the playing could provide some more of the dark shiver that such power-crazed individuals actually cause. Andrea Close and Lexi Sekuless had strong elements of this inner power shaped through their holding of the space and movement through it.

While the production illustrated the insane world of Enron, perhaps we, as audience members, might well be challenged as accomplices within this playground of big capital! More work on the subliminal communication of physical presence might frighten us just a little as we realise this is not history but NOW!