EDINBURGH 2016 - Review: THE MARKED, Pleasance Dome, 9 August

The Marked opens with a man sleeping rough beside some bins and the police raiding a squat. The sleeping man, Jack, meets Sophie, who has fled from the squat. She has reservations about him, but the pair begin to talk and she tells him that she's pregnant. Jack becomes fiercely protective of her and starts to draw comparisons with his own upbringing.

A large part of The Marked is quite subtle. Jack knows there are demons, demons that have followed him since he was a child. Told through clever puppetry and masks, we see that he had an alcoholic parent. Alcohol is portrayed as a monster, which brings out the demon in his mother.

At the heart of the play is a message that we shouldn't judge someone because they are homeless. Jack is a kind man who is willing to give away the little he has. He wants nothing more than to protect someone else who he views as vulnerable.

The execution is a little disjointed in places, even though most of the masks and puppets are really effective - I will be having nightmares about human-sized pigeons for weeks. The Marked has the potential to be something really special, but I much preferred the interactions between characters than the masks and demon portrayal that runs alongside them.

The Marked runs at the Pleasance Dome until 29 August

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