A play that packs a punch and intrigues as much as it terrifies
A horror play that is truly scary can be hard to find. Luckily, Indigo Productions have just the show – ‘Scatter: A Horror Play’ is thrillingly intense, and ultimately succeeds in its aim to be the scariest show at the Fringe this year.
Patrick McPherson stuns in his role as the protagonist and sole performer, though the set itself plays a crucial role too, as does the darkness of the venue. From the moment the audience walked in, they were immersed in a deeply unsettling environment with flickering lights that were barely enough to cast any kind of visibility.
Moments of humour were few and far between, but the moments that appeared, had the whole audience laughing: a wonderful use of comedy to break tension and provide the audience with a feeling of relief. That relief, however, was always short-lived, before McPherson plunged back into the terror of his protagonist and the terror of the themes in general. Rampant, generational mental illness was a huge part of the plot, which fascinates as much as it horrifies. The delicate exploration of grief, trauma, and familial relationships is terrific: coupled with the show’s themes of folklore taken to the extreme, it was a masterful performance that cannot be reviewed highly enough.
‘Scatter: A Horror Play’ is a production at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival between the 18th and 25th of August. Tickets are available here: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/scatter-a-horror-play.