Burn

Loved this show, and well done to all to perform so well after the fire alarm!
Excellent writing and cast, definitely didn't see the twists coming

Wow! This was my first fringe show this year and what a great beginning. Tightly written and expertly performed, we were completely engrossed and involved. Well done guys, should be a must see for everyone!

So good I saw it twice!
Even though Burn is only an hour long, the talented cast and clever writing quickly draw the audience into this thriller to experience the unfolding events alongside the 4 characters. Superbly directed in the round by Venetia Lawless, the hour whizzes by and John Muggleton's script leaves just enough open ended questions to ensure a good discussion in the bar after!
Make sure you don't miss this one and book soon as tickets are selling fast!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Great story, brilliantly acted . I loved this show.

Excellent script, brilliant performances. On the edge of my seat. Go see Burn

Very enjoyable Whodunnit type of show. Definitely not a disappointment.

Really fun ghost story. Venue gets you up close and personal with the cast. Totally recommend this for a fun, afternoon show!

This show bursts into life with great energy, as three old friends reunite in the wake of another friend’s death. It’s quickly established that their familiarity with each other belies a certain estrangement in recent years.

Thus a pattern is set, and we’re drawn into a socially warm situation on the surface, with unsettling elements and intrigue lurking beneath.

The friends have been brought together by the dead man’s daughter, whom they have never met. As soon as she arrives, it’s clear something isn’t right. Host Robert becomes suspicious, but Samantha declares that Eve is ‘sweet’.

Their guest fawns over Robert, a writer whose wife, we learn, disappeared five years previously. At the same time, Eve snubs Robert’s publisher, David, a vice-president – but of what precisely, we never discover.

David’s thwarted desire to mansplain his work role is one of writer John Muggleton’s many comic touches. These lighten the mood, yet make the descent into darker territory steeper and more shocking.

As the story unfolds, there are well-timed revelations and, in a clever reflexive sequence, storytelling itself comes under discussion. Muggleton successfully gets you interested in various strands of backstory, which all add to the immediate drama.

This compares favourably with some other shows, which work terribly hard to take you to other times and places, yet somehow never escape their performance space.

Ottawa Little Theatre has the edge in terms of staging, too. Its ingenious, minimalist set, on a thrust stage area, does much to suggest Robert’s home while enabling a restless movement through action and reaction, as Eve confronts her father’s friends with her uncanny knowledge of their past lives.

Burn is described as ‘a contemporary thriller’ but it also fits squarely within a long tradition of ensemble mystery dramas. A coast-to-coast hit in Canada, this welcome European outing shows how a genre piece can facilitate sparkling dialogue, well-drawn characters and a gripping plot. In the hands of director Venetia Lawless, it becomes just over an hour’s worth of really entertaining theatre.

Its drive to entertain is perhaps the key to this production. Ottawa Little Theatre is an amateur repertory company with a fanbase that expects high quality drama worth talking about. This show delivers just that.

You can catch it at Venue 9, just off the Royal Mile, at 12.25pm daily, until 20 August (except 14 August).

Incidentally, the show shares its title with Alan Cumming’s high-profile solo show, but the latter is clearly differentiated by being part of the official Edinburgh Festival.

Rating: ★★★★

Extremely clever writing and a slick performance. Definitely one to see. Thanks

Brilliant performances, excellent script. The show kept me on the edge of my seat. Highly recommended.

So good! Well written story that keeps you guessing right till the end!! It’s both a murder mystery and ghost story, with some great jokes along the way. All the actors were amazing and we especially loved Eve. Highly recommend!!

Brilliant play, full of suspense and very well performed. One of the best things I’ve seen at the Fringe.

Set on a thrust stage, this play becomes very intimate and the audience is granted the experience of being in the scene. Many twists and turns with an ending that will leave you wanting more!

The room fizzes with palpable discomfort, which is overtaken by guilt and anger, before a superb final twist. Excellent stuff.