Edinburgh Fringe 2022
Burn
Ottawa Little Theatre
Genre: Contemporary, Theatre
Venue: theSpace @ Niddry St
Festival: Edinburgh Fringe
Low Down
There are ghostly goings on and a mystery to be solved as three friends meet following the death of their close friend, a successful horror writer. They await the arrival of their dead friend’s daughter and during the next highly entertaining hour, through many twists and surprises, some long buried truths are revealed. This is an early afternoon theatrical treat that is highly recommended.
Review
If you are looking for ghosts in Edinburgh then the cobbled streets and closes of the Old Town would be a good place to start. If you want a guaranteed sighting of something spooky then head for “Burn” at the Space on Niddry Street at about 12:25 each day. Once the lights go down there may be the odd jump, bang, twist and surprise, but then again you wouldn’t expect anything less from a contemporary thriller-horror-ghostly-murder-mystery. It all starts with three friends brought together following the recent death of their other friend, Paul. Paul’s daughter is on her way from the airport, and it isn’t clear why she is coming or what exactly she wants. The funny thing about skeletons in cupboards is that they have a habit of popping up to wreak havoc just when you thought they were dead and buried.
Playwright John Muggleton’s clever and often funny writing is brought to life by four talented and very believable performers. They move naturally about the thrust stage ensuring the whole audience is carried along on the exciting narrative journey that whizzes by without any dip in dialogue or action. The staging is simple but effective and like all good horror stories the audience must use their imagination to fill in any gaps. There are some dark undercurrents and surprises that are balanced by lighter moments and a few laughs too.
By the end of the hour, although things have slowly become darker, they are also a lot clearer. There may still be a few questions to answer, but whatever it is we have just seen, heard and experienced the audience is certainly left wanting more. This genre might not normally be my first choice, but I would seek out more shows like this in the future, especially if I knew in advance that the quality of writing and performance would be this good. The almost full Wednesday afternoon audience appeared to lap up this theatrical treat, laughing along, and gasping appropriately in all the right places. Following a substantial applause and with a buzz of excitement we left the darkness behind finding sanctuary back out in the daylight.
This is a good quality contemporary thriller that delivers a highly entertaining hour. It is recommended for fans of horror, mysteries and ghostly goings on. So forget midnight, the best time to experience something of the murderous and entertaining kind is just after midday down on old Niddry Street. But, please take care as there are strange forces at work, and I hear that tickets are vanishing into thin air. You have been warned.
