Theatre review: Cleansed, theSpace on North Bridge (Venue 36), Edinburgh

WHILE it was once another of the Irish Church’s well-kept dark secrets, the shameful history of the Magdalene laundries – where supposedly wayward young girls were confined, not uncommonly for life – is now widely known.

Cleansed

theSpace on North Bridge (Venue 36)

Star rating: * *

This takes much of the sting out of Rummage Theatre’s debut production, featuring three recent performing arts graduates from Weymouth College, which follows an ex-inmate’s pursuit of retribution against her former Mother Superior, alongside flashback scenes depicting the brutal regime she endured. And any putative thriller-like tension is largely thwarted by a vacillating storyline, sluggish pace, confusing chronology and weak acting.

• Until 25 August. Today 3:30pm.