Theatre review: The Trial

Published on Sunday 9 August 2009 19:39

*** C SOCO (VENUE 348)

GOING to see one of the wonderful Belt Up's plays is a bit like going on a roller-coaster: you never quite know what's going to happen, but it's probably going to be pretty full-on. Their latest piece – an adaptation of Franz Kafka's The Trial – deploys their trademark immersive theatre. Audience members should expect to be routinely blindfolded, used as props and dragged about. If you haven't seen their work before you will undoubtedly find it a refreshing change from everything else at the Fringe.

However, having seen a few of their shows, I'm coming to the conclusion that while their comedies are enjoyable and life-affirming, their tragedies – such as this one – offer a more gruelling experience. Without spoiling things, there's a lot of dry ice, not much oxygen and it's quite hot. A smoke-filled room may at first feel evocative, but it is none the less pretty uncomfortable to be standing in for more than an hour.

The story centres around Josef K, a bank clerk accused of committing a nameless crime who then finds himself trapped in a never-ending system of trials, retrials and punishment without conviction. It all sounds horribly familiar and the story, published in 1925, certainly resonates today.

However, as with Belt Up's other works, the narrative is less a priority than the overall experience. We too are put "on trial" and asked to live out the frustrations of Josef K in a potentially provocative way but it isn't processed beyond the fact we are literally trapped.

The cast of frightening clowns creates some strikingly nightmarish images and scenes, but it's hard to engage with these snarling figures in the same way as the friendlier troupe of performers from the show's sister play, The Tartuffe. While The Trial is clearly intended to be unsettling, the claustrophobic atmosphere is so stifling it's difficult to concentrate on anything else.

• Until 31 August. Today 11:20pm.