Memory Cells

Structure is key to this two-hander by Louise Welsh, which premiered last year as part of Glasgay! and is revived for the Fringe under the direction of Hannah Eidinow.

It is a work of fiction, but one with strong echoes of real-life horrors such as the kidnappings of Natascha Kampusch in Austria and Jaycee Lee Dugard in the US.

While knowledge of these cases serves to remind the gripped audience that what they are watching is not beyond the realms of possibility, there's also a sense of missed opportunity.

The play is a compelling little puzzle for the audience to solve, and John Stalh and Emily Taafe deliver fine performances, but the bulk of the play tells of a physical imprisonment, side-stepping the most fascinating psychological dimensions of the cases that have shocked the world.

A version of this review first appeared in The Herald.