Light (Edinburgh Fringe)

In a world of social media and growing debate about online privacy, it’s not too hard to imagine a future where technology has advanced to a point where we can communicate via thought.

That’s the idea behind Theatre ad Infinitum‘s Light, which paints a vision of a dystopian future inspired by Edward Snowden’s surveillance revelations where the government literally monitors dreams, ideas and thoughts of the populace.

The real draw of the show is the design; we sit in darkness as the cast use torches and strip lights to illuminate the piece, with glowing spheres for thoughts and an immersive soundscape from Chris Bartholomew. The technology is flashy, and the cast use it slickly.

And yet the story itself is not so exciting. Young government agent Petros, overseen by his somewhat distant father, must capture anyone that tries to go to a disconnection clinic; that is, to remove the chip implanted in their head which allows the open mindspace.

So far, so predictable; an encounter with a woman who turns out to be more than she first seems (the fact she knows his name is a bit of a clue) leads to an unravelling of Petros' relationships. The added dream sequence and flashbacks make it a little fragmented, and it’s easy to lose the detail of the plot.

There are a few touching scenes, and it's worth seeing for the ingenuous concept, but overall it feels like Theatre Ad Infinitum have gone, impressive as it may be, for style over substance.

Light runs at the Pleasance Dome until 25 August

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