Peeping at Bosch

'I'm going straight to Hell,' announced one young man gleefully as he travelled through the decorative revolving door.

'Enjoy!' called out the fruit bearer in The Garden of Earthly Delights.

Peeping at Bosch is no ordinary theatre show. In fact it's not really a theatre show at all, more of an interactive live art experience. Its creator Iain Smith has called it a 'focused experiment', as it's the first step of his plan to create a large-scale outdoor 'theme park' bringing to life the paintings of Hieronymus Bosch.

Whether that crazy scheme will come to fruition remains to be seen – the Friday night crowd certainly threw themselves into the experience, although one suspects a less arty bunch would respond quite differently to being asked to ride a wooden pig or hug a strange-looking stranger.

Protective headwear is distributed, instantly making everyone look a bit silly and very effectively removing a layer of audience inhibition. Bosch appears to talk about himself, although since little is known about the Netherlandish painter there's not a lot to say, and a performer reading from a book is never the best way to start a show.

Those who walk around clockwise will first visit the Garden of Eden, where a pale white, near-naked Adam and Eve slowly explore their surroundings, picking their way over pebbles. Visitors recline on leaf-shaped beanbags, briefly hypnotised.

The Garden of Earthly Delights lives up to its name. Succulent strawberries are dispensed at the entrance, entrancing water nymphs hold the gaze of those who admire them and other-worldly characters beckon passers-by into tents for tender hugs and cleverly-transmitted spiritual tales.

However, by this point in the journey it's clear that Hell is where the real action is, as disconcerting banging noises have been coming from the final destination. It's worth waiting for: some truly abominable punishments are being dished out to unfortunate residents, two of whom appear to have been found guilty of greed and gluttony respectively. It's not clear why third poor sod is there, imprisoned in a metal cage that we're encouraged to hammer on relentlessly, and disfigured in an unspeakable way.

Those of a sadistic disposition can pummel the buttocks of a property developer with wads of currency, and those with problem-solving skills worthy of The Crystal Maze can dish out more punishment by dangling food in front of a man who will never reach it using a see-saw.

Artistically and technically this is a very impressive Hell, which arguably bumps the show's advertised 'PG' rating up closer to a 12A. It's certainly a cut above the average tourist-trap 'dungeon', but where a large-scale outdoor version would fit into the grander scheme of Scottish arts isn't easy to imagine.

Created in partnership with the National Theatre of Scotland and Tramway.