Abomination
C, Edinburgh Festival Fringe

Group: Nuffield Theatre Southampton & Theatre First

Stuart Simpson

This is the kind of play performed in school assemblies. Martha is bullied at school and has a miserable home life. What should she do?

Scott, who has no father, has just moved from London with his mother. Should he join in with the bullies to fit in, or should he stand up for his new friend Martha, and risk a good kickin' and being bullied himself? If you think morality plays went out with the middle ages, think again.

The audience is not even allowed the luxury of understanding the message of the play for itself. Between the dialogue all three actors simultaneously narrate the play, explaining the situation, explaining what the characters are doing, what they are thinking. I can't work out whether Nuffield Theatre have a dismal view of the intelligence of their audience, or just think that their characters are not strong enough to carry the play alone.

Abomination is billed as a 'sensational new thriller for young audiences'. I can only hope that this play is not performed in front of young audiences. There is nothing more calculated to turn people off theatre than a patronising moral sermon.

30 August to 24 August.

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