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- guardian.co.uk, Monday August 14 2000 00.00 BST
Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind
Bongo Club ***
Chicago's Neo-Futurists have written over 3,600 plays; none lasts longer than two minutes. Performances take the form of a beat-the-clock, audience-interactive hour in which they attempt to perform 30 of them.
Can a play that lasts less time than it takes to brush your teeth have much impact? Of course, Samuel Beckett proved brief can be beautiful. But on the evidence of the first 30 plays, the Neo-Futurists seldom rise above the level of sketch.
It is good fun, but the tone is self-consciously jokey, and although the company specialises in writing on the hop, there is little that is topical or sharply observed. Whatever they may claim, the hour is as far removed from daily life as most other theatre in Edinburgh.
A selection of the published plays suggests that the company's material has more emotional depth than it appeared on the first night, and the idea is sufficiently intriguing to make a return visit - the plays are changed every day - seem like a good idea. But on the basis of what I saw, this is fun but not essential.
Till August 26. Box office: 0131-226 5204.
