The Factory

The 'war on terror' inspired Al Seed, artist-in-residence at The Arches in Glasgow, to create his intense solo show The Factory.

Taking influences from such sources as 1984 and Frankenstein, it's a visually stunning performance that is at turns brutal, blackly comic and really quite frightening.

The best way to describe how Seed contorts his body in the opening scene is that the result looks like distorted, speeded-up film. In this style, any gestures reminiscent of a human being become instantly grotesque.

Meanwhile, simple make-up transforms a laugh into a twisted grimace, and an electro soundtrack pounds out a foreboding, urgent heartbeat.

If this character is at work in a factory, then it's a factory of war. On his desk is a big red button, and mayhem is unleashed when he inevitably pushes it. That this is so clearly conveyed by a single performer demonstrates the power of Seed's creative vision.

The Niddry Street caves are the perfect venue for The Factory; a mind-bending show of the kind that is rarely staged outside of the Fringe or one of The Arches' own excellent theatre festivals.