Death and the Maiden, C Too, Edinburgh fringe

A production of Ariel Dorfman's 1990 classic from the Sevenoaks School Theatre Company.  A quarter of a century on and it still retains it's power to shock and raise the questions that have been so difficult in societies moving from brutal dictatorship to democracy.  Dorfman is Chilean, but the issues raised have been the same in Spain and South Africa as much as in the Americas.  If you torture the torturers are you no better than them?  If you don't have the rule of law applied then what was the point of the change?

Once you've got over the, initially jarring, youthful looks and cut glass English accents of the performers this becomes an engrossing production.  The direction shows some sparks of imagination and although there were a few minor tech glitches they didn't detract.  The two men occasionally look out of their depth, Gerardo lacking the confused exasperation his situation demands, the Doctor needs to exude greater ambivalence.  It's Paulina who's the stand out of the trio, getting close to the cocktail of suffering, madness and revenge that drives the character.  (I was unable to find out the performers' names so I've used the characters.)

This won't be the greatest version of the play you'll ever see, but it probably won't be the worst either.  And if you want a reminder of the capacity of Dorfman's words to lead you into the hell of totalitarianism (something we all need to be aware of in the current political situation) then this will do very nicely thanks.

Death and the Maiden is in C Too until 13 August.