The Curing Room @ Pleasance Dome

The Edinburgh Fringe Festival presents Stripped Down Productions' The Curing Room at Pleasance Dome. Based on real events that happened in Poland in 1944, the play provides a disappointing portrayal of what happens when seven Soviet soldiers are stripped and abandoned in a monastery cellar by the Nazis.

The majority of the acting seems forced and the script, while at times hinting at possible ingenuity, is quite dull. The soldiers appear as stereotypes, cardboard cut-outs of real people who reach no genuine depth of character, despite discussions of their individual characters and background throughout. This is a shame as due to the setting and situation of the play an audience should care deeply about the characters and what is to become of them. Furthermore the character arc of Yura – the stereotypical guy with learning difficulties – seems contrived, though this is no fault of Thomas Hollaway, whose acting is in fact admirable.

If the direction of the piece focused more on creating a real connection between the cast and their characters, there may have been more depth of feeling. The movements of the cast seem over-rehearsed and unnatural especially in scenes of fighting, although some hits do sound genuine as they land. Also their plight does not seem desperate enough to warrant what happens within the room. While it is based on real events, it is hard to imagine this speculation on those events actually happening, since there doesn't seem to be a portrayal of the prisoners' attempt to escape, as well as a few other inconsistencies occurring throughout. 

The set is bare, to emphasise that the seven men are left with nothing at all, not even their dignity. Sound and lighting are used to build the world around them; however, it may have created more of an atmosphere if the sound were more tied in to the scenes rather than just used as a transition effect.

This is an unfulfilling first show in Stripped Down Productions' inaugural season, however there is room for great improvement which they can hopefully achieve as the season continues.