PANDORA 88 till 19 August

Edinburgh Fringe

PANDORA 88
by Wolfgang Hoffman and Sven Till

Fabrik Company at St Stephens To 19 August 2003
4.10pm
Runs 1hr No interval

TICKETS: 0131 558 3853
Review: Timothy Ramsden 3 August

Skilfully executed but the idea itself proves too confined.
As the old saying has it, There's many a slip 'twixt the concept and performance. The idea of two men stuck in a lift is extended to having them confined for life, apparently, in a box. Quite how this relates to Pandora's Box is unclear - the work is actually based on former Middle East hostage Brian Keenan's book An Evil Cradling and the enclosed spacecraft of Stanley Kubrick's film 2001 A Space Odyssey.

Though it's no adaptation. The material seems more related to the company's rehearsal exploration of confinement, leaving only oblique references to any source. This is all well there's no reason imaginations should be confined by sources, even in a piece on this subject.

Germany's Fabrik offer skilled performances, well up to the standard expected in St Stephens' Aurora Nova season. But before the hour is up, and one of the figures climbs on to the roof (unclear why this wasn't tried before) the curse of the over-extended improvisation has taken over.

These two are seen working in harmony, in confusion and in conflict. But, fine though they are technically, the idea, and any relationship involved, have been explored fully enough some time before the hour is up.

Cast:
Wolfgang Hoffman, Sven Till

Director: Andrew Dawson
Music: Matthias Herrmann

2003-08-14 11:01:33