EDINBURGH 2016 - Review: IN FIDELITY, Traverse Theatre, 5 August

In Fidelity is a theatre experience that attempts to create a genuine first date, live onstage. Written by and starring Rob Drummond, he has conducted research that includes having an MRI scan to see how his brain responds to love, and joining match.com to gain more insight into the dating game.

The first thing that really appealed to me about In Fidelity is that the audience participation is purely voluntary. Nobody is ridiculed or made to do anything they feel uncomfortable with. The potential love interests put themselves forward and answer a series of questions and Drummond selects the ones he thinks would be the most successful match to go on the date we are about to observe.

A large portion of the performance is scripted. Drummond tells us his own romantic history, how he met his wife and talks us through the interactions he had while researching dating websites. The date that takes place in front of us is not scripted, although Drummond is on hand to guide the conversation when they struggle. He provides typical first date questions and the audience decide whether or not they are a suitable match. The anecdotes that Drummond shares about his own life and his marriage give the show a little more heart and steers the piece away from becoming in any way a gimmick.

I overheard some whispers at the end of the show that people thought perhaps the couple were actors and the whole thing was a set up. However, having seen Rob Drummond's productions before and knowing that in a previous show he had an audience member fire a loaded gun at him - the audience participation is almost certainly genuine. I would be interested to see another performance of In Fidelity, simply to see how it would play out with different Audience members.

There is a certain level of improvisation required in a performance like this and it really enhanced the piece. During a festival of thousands of different productions trying to stand out, In Fidelity is a truly unique experience.

In Fidelity runs at the Traverse Theatre until August 28th.

Photo credit: Eoin Carey

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