Penny Dreadful's Etherdome @ Assembly

Three dentists in nineteenth century America are seeking to create pain-free surgery in Penny Dreadful's Etherdome. For two, it is the altruistic act and scientific advancement while for another it becomes part of a money-spinning power-hungry venture. Our three dentists concoct their own potions and elixirs – or pinch them from one another - in the hope of striking it lucky.

A delicious performance by all three actors; from squirming in pain to teeming with malevolence, they immerse themselves in each of their roles. At times it is unclear who is playing which character – they also play the supporting roles - although this is further impeded by limited stage space. There are, perhaps, too many different roles outwith our central three.

The style is very much Nosferatu does dance as the performers move dramatically and dangerously across the stage, re-appearing through curtains and staring down the audience. There’s a great deal of medical rivalry between them which is played out through gothic cabaret and macabre performance.

The venue itself – a specially erected, creaking, wooden carnival tent with swing doors and soft roof – is perfect for such a show and complements the Victorian-style, wooden set, furnished with apothecary bottles of varying shapes and sizes and indeed the waist-coat clad actors themselves.

There’s an interesting message to the show; three doctors are ultimately left damaged despite searching for a drug to ease the sensation of pain itself. Anaesthesia is a curious choice of subject as it remains a questionable thread of modern surgery despite being around for over a hundred years.