Theatre review: Passengers, Summerhall, Edinburgh

Those who read anarchic Dundonian comic the Beano in their youth will be well aware of the Numskulls, a cast of cartoon figures who steer a person's mind and senses from inside their head.

Passengers, Summerhall (Venue 26)

Passengers, Summerhall, Edinburgh * * *

This piece by Vacuum Theatre and writer Kit Redstone is like a more sophisticated and adult version of the same concept, with three characters squabbling and sharing control within the head of Max, a character with Dissociative Identity Disorder who has had an episode, a flashpoint, in a cafe, where he has inexplicably thrown a chair against a window.

The cluttered mind of Max is represented by a scaffolding arrangement on the stage, through which the three fragments of his psyche climb and clamber, occasionally coming together in synchronised unity. The three performers – Neil Chinneck, Jessica Clark, Redstone himself – bear different and sometimes conflicting personalities, and there is a truth to it all which comes from Redstone’s own experiences with DID and a treatment which encourages the patient to view themselves as being comprised of different personalities. The nature of the piece as a devised work with contributions from all involved gives it a fragmentary air; but then, that is much of the show’s point.

Until 25 August

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