Showing @ Pleasance Dome, Edinburgh until Mon 25 Aug (not 11) @ 12:10
The Hive takes place in a visceral and tactile Orwellian world, where control, communication, survival and love are the themes masterfully tackled. We find ourselves in a war ravaged sci-fi universe where an imposing and controlling dictator known as The Network Controller (played by Chris Hooper) has isolated the citizens into claustrophobic prison cells to control their movements. We follow Koto (Nick Gilbert) as he breaks free from his cell and falls in love with Sara (Florence O’Mahony).
The cast of The Hive are young, enthusiastic and embody the invention that is apparent on stage. The performance works best when we witness the innovative use of flashlights to evoke large and imposing mechanical creatures. These creatures’ appearance feels somewhat short and fleeting, but this does allow more time to develop the characters and their relationship to their world.
Human Zoo Theatre do their best to cram a lot of storytelling, action and innovation into an hour. At times The Hive can be seen as a fast paced adventure and, at others, a melancholic love story. Human Zoo are definitely a name to look out for and this is a thrilling debut adventure from a promising company.