Gross Domestic Product ***

The social science of economics is not widely understood and is largely underappreciated. It examines macro decision-making – such as interest rates – and micro – for instance, at what price point a consumer may switch from high street to supermarket-brand butter. Ever wonder how a local authority decides whether to install a streetlight? Chances are, there’s been a study using economic data; the Value of a Statistical Life is frequently employed, giving rise to the idea of an economic value assigned to human life.

All of which brings us to Pique Theatre’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

GDP, incidentally, is one measure of national economic activity… so why is there a man in a suit tied to an office chair with a hood over his head?

Finlay (Aker Okoye) has been abducted and is now in a UK government office. A young civil servant, Rodney (Ioannis Fanis), enters – but he’s the antithesis of threatening, in fact proving to be rather accommodating. The arrival of his boss, Aisling (Emdiane Smith), heightens his anxiety and raises the stakes.

The civil service has a supercomputer, UGEN, that can allegedly calculate enhancements to GDP from micro events. In this case, GDP would increase by 10% if Finlay were to commit suicide – and the pair cajole him to play ball.

What follows is a series of events over a number of days, during which the situations of all three characters deteriorate as UGEN delivers fresh commands.

The influences on Gross Domestic Product have many political, economic and literary roots: Stalin’s Five Year Plan, AI economic modelling, the Post Office scandal, Nazi Germany, Brexit, Black Mirror and Big Brother – both the novel and the reality television show – to name a few.

While at times an absurdist piece of new black comedy writing, the smorgasbord of ideas and twists proves jarring, and the demand to suspend disbelief becomes too onerous. The writing and directing could use rework. The performances are largely promising, though, with Smith’s composure being a highlight.

However, the overriding message of the production is to signpost human indifference to violence – which, sadly, never seems to go out of fashion.