Eden Gate
✭✭✭✭✩ Highly infectious
C Nova (Venue 145) 30 July – 25 August 2014
People make decisions every minute of every day, but what if one of those decisions made the difference between life and death, and the fate of humanity? Would you let someone else make it for you? And how would you feel about the consequences of that decision?
Blood on the High Street. The poster for Eden Gate.
These are the questions that lie at the heart of Eden Gate, a highly interactive promenade performance by Produced Moon Theatre Company.
Set in 2017, in a world where a deadly virus has wiped out millions of lives, Eden Gate is a sanctuary in Edinburgh. For the few survivors that make it there, it offers shelter, a chance to rebuild civilisation and a new beginning. Or does it?
Directed by Leonie Rae Gasson, the cast set the initial scene at the entrance to Eden Gate. The audience members, who are now survivors, pass through the entrance to a medical facility, where they are screened for the virus. The survivors are led through the check-in process by those who work at the facility, but there is mistrust among some of the survivors and the seeds of apprehension are sown.
Eden Gate is an immersive piece, where the audience fully interact with the actors. Once the scenario is set, the survivors must decide what to do. The actors, most notably, Claire Parry as Becky Thomas, help steer this along the way, but ultimately, the survivors decides how it’s going to play out, which means it’s a different experience every day.
The cast perform remarkable improvisation work to respond to the survivors, with Catriona MacLeod as Angela Day, and Fred Ferguson as Peter Kaiden taking the lead roles. There are moments when the calm facade of Eden Gate seems to crack under the pressure, and this is precisely what makes it so convincing.
This is fascinating, compelling and thought-provoking drama which is achieved through clever, playful and collaborative experiences. Faced with an impending crisis, the intensity builds throughout the piece until finally there is an ending. But it doesn’t end there, the questions behind Eden Gate will stay with you for a while.
Would you know what questions to ask? Produced Moon invite you to go and play, if you think you can handle it…
Running time: 50 minutes
C Nova, India Buildings, Victoria Street, EH1 2EX (Venue 145)
30 July – 25 August 2014 (not Mon 11)
Daily, 13.15
Tickets from: edfringe.com/whats-on/eden-gate
Produced Moon website: www.producedmoon.co.uk/
ENDS
