Those who dice with death every day are almost always at the lowest rung of society, and are seldom the type of people with the power to write history. For Dust, those forgotten individuals are the survivors of the 1973 Lofthouse Colliery disaster, one of the largest mining accidents to take place in England. Charlaina Thompson’s ambitious script tells the story of one man as he graduates through the various stages of a working-class life in post-war Yorkshire, until he becomes a member of the mining community. He narrowly escapes death in the disaster only to endure survivor’s guilt before witnessing the collapse of British industry in Thatcher’s Britain.

Told with a startling verisimilitude, the hard-nosed action is anchored by performer Craig McArdle, who brings a visceral intensity and ceaseless energy to the role. He refuses to tackle his part by halves, amplifying the passion of his character to apocalyptic degrees in his darker moments, before hitting comedic beats with the timing of a stand-up. Culminating with righteous anger at the British state, the personal becomes universal, transforming what could have been a time capsule into a wholly resonant meditation on masculinity, industry and the state’s ambivalence towards working-class people.

Dust, Pleasance Courtyard, until 30 August, 2.10pm; picture: Marie Pier Labelle.