FringeReview Scotland 2026

Control

DC Thomas

Genre: Horror, New Writing, Theatre

Venue: Duns Volunteer Hall

Festival: FringeReview Scotland

Low Down

Review

Control – the power, authority, or ability to manage, direct, regulate, or restrain people, objects, or processes.  Deployed as a noun, as it is in this eponymous, interesting piece of new writing from DC Thomas, it’s a mechanism for regulation.

The setting is the sitting room of a quaint, cosy cottage, a two seater sofa augmented with a dining table around which four chairs are arranged, the table top being adorned with accoutrements associated with a session that’s seeking to summon someone, or something from somewhere.  Beyond the grave, perhaps.

Completing the mysteriously unnatural feel is the sound of a rapidly approaching storm, its intensity growing as it seemingly zeros in on the cottage, presumably with the intention of providing the biblical scale downpour and thunder claps that are the staple of any decent modern horror/thriller.

Dawn has recently been fired from her job by what her three friends regard as a harridan of a boss.  So, to raise Dawn’s spirits, the quartet are meeting in Jen’s cosy home for a wee, friendly bash at a séance, summoning the spirit of the notorious Countess Elizabeth Báthory, a Hungarian noblewoman and alleged serial killer from the back end of the 16th century who, with four of her servants, was accused of torturing and killing hundreds of girls and women.  Just the sort of friendly soul to add joy to a party.

But as the candles flicker into action and the rum loosens inhibitions, so the mood turns from the carefree to the chilling.  What starts out as a quest for retribution and revenge for the ills heaped on the now unemployed Dawn deteriorates to the dangerous, a distinct turn for the worse as the storm (superbly represented by an evocative, haunting, thundering soundscape) arrives directly overhead as our ethereal spirit proves to be less of a help and more of a hinderance.

Control is an intriguing piece of new writing that explores fear, guilt, rage and control itself, each of the four actors representing one of these characteristics.  It also tests the boundaries of friendship and how taking justice into your own hands can easily lead to unintended, terrifying consequences.

Thomas’ script is well crafted, observational, with the light badinage between friends slowly, inexorably being replaced by darker, sinister material.  Lighting and sound are also an integral part of the unfolding action, so hats off to the creators of both.

However, the overall impression was of a show that remains a bit of a “work-in-progress”, although that’s hardly surprising given that DunsPlayFest is known as a welcoming home for new, experimental theatre.  So, in the spirit of constructive advice, perhaps consider some or all of the following to help the show’s development.

Acting was a bit of a mixed bag.  Emotional intensity and spontaneity took a back seat in some of the early onstage banter – odd considering these were supposedly four long-time friends.  Diction and volume also went missing at times. And the pace (in what was barely a thirty minute piece) dipped alarmingly without apparent cause on a number of occasions.

Finally, the denouement was somewhat abrupt, leaving the audience pondering as to what was the actual outcome of the séance and what became of the quartet themselves, the post-production “bar chat” suggesting that more answers were needed.  Either that or clearer questions that were deliberately left unresolved.

But this is a scripts that’s got real potential, so a bit more exploration of the dive into the dangerous, some stronger character development, tighter cueing and incorporating those tweaks outlined above and you’ve got something that could be worryingly real.

Published May 4, 2026 by Tim Wilcock