EDINBURGH 2014 - BWW Reviews: THE SECRET COLLECTOR, Greenside @ Nicolson, August 4 2014

Jack is a collector. However, he is not a collector of stamps or buttons, he collects secrets. It is an interesting concept but not executed as well as it could have been.

There are some nice ideas. The play takes place on a small island where everyone thinks they know everything about each other. This is soon revealed to not be the case as we find out more about them.

This is a youth theatre production and I'm not entirely sure what the intent of the jarred movements and staring children is, but it comes across as very creepy. The narrator, Jack, is very sinister but this is intentional as he harbours a very dark secret himself.

The piece improves when they start exposing secrets of the island inhabitants. Some are quite sweet, like the lady who is secretly adding donations to a man's memorial fund for his late wife when he's not looking. Others are a bit darker, like the boy who is mistreating his ill mother.

The Secret Collector doesn't seem to know what is doing. There are some good ideas but the overall style of the piece is odd and although it has some potential, it needs a bit more work.

The Secret Collector runs at Greenside @ Nicolson until August 7th.

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