EDINBURGH 2014 - BWW REVIEWS: EDEN GATE, C Nova, August 1 2014

Set in the near future, Eden Gate takes place at the entrance to a sanctuary from a deadly virus that has reduced the population to a few hundred thousand people. You, the audience member, are a key part of the story as you have survived the apocalypse so far, and made your way to Edinburgh, where Eden Gate, a closed community free of the virus, is starting to rebuild civilisation.

The show begins as you go through the induction procedures at the sanctuary, with cleverly chosen methods of drawing you into the experience and encouraging participation. Even a little mention of initial thoughts that the virus was a form of ebola, as per recent news reports, add to the realism of the experience. As more information about Eden Gate and the virus begin to emerge and intrigue begins to infect proceedings, you have a decision to make, the temperature in the room is rising and...hold on, wasn't heightened temperature a symptom of the virus?!

You soon begin second guessing your every action since entering the show, not to mention second guessing everyone in the room with you. What most impressed me about Eden Gate was, after the end, an entire group of audience members, most of whom were complete strangers before the show congregated outside to evaluate their decisions and to say to each other, "Hang on, weren't you an actor?" "No, I thought you were an actor!" This aspect of the experience will no doubt vary depending on how different audiences react, but the show facilitated interaction rather well and let people go away chewing over whether they had made the right choices.

It is an emphatically interactive piece of work, so go to the show ready to take part and go along with the conceit. Eden Gate is not a Fringe show to go along to and sit in a darkened room and doze off for an hour. What it is, is a fun and immersive experience, full of tropes from post-apocalyptic movies and tv shows, where you can play along with an entertaining atmospheric experiment in group psychology.

Eden Gate is on at C Nova at 1315 daily until the 25th of August (not 11th).