When you look at the cast list for Cicada’s Children you may think there are only two people in the play. You would be mistaken. The moment you walk into the theatre you become a part of the production, whether you like it or not. You are captive but complicit. Your hands are tied but still soaked in blood.

It is this unique relationship with the audience that sets Cicada’s Children apart. Both Danny (Mark Jones) and Bella (Anna Freeman) build individual relationships with the audience. They are able, quickly and subtly, to create both a rapport and establish their character. These individual relationships are critical because they act as our gateways into the two parts of the narrative. The first is a misguided romance and the second is a story of manipulation and desperation.

Freeman captures the unsteady passionate rage we associate with the desperate and the unhinged

It is a testament to the quality of Anna Freeman’s script that, despite the darkness of their intentions, she is able to keep her characters empathetic. In both her writing and performance Freeman captures the unsteady passionate rage we associate with the desperate and the unhinged. From this, you might think that Cicada’s Children is exclusively a dark drama. It does have moments that spark great discomfort but it is, at heart, a dark comedy.

Freeman is able to create two very distinct voices for Danny and Bella, both of whom are funny and charming in their own bizarre ways. Speaking to her after the show she said that every night she could feel a difference between who the audience most sided with; the awkward, bumbling Danny or the deadpan, darker Bella. On my night, I felt that Bella received the better of the laughs.

The space was used perfectly, not an inch wasted and a small room on the second floor of the Hilton Edinburgh was transformed

To write a show that is both funny and unsettling is exceptionally complex and despite the quality of Freeman’s script, it feels unlikely it would have been as successful without Aoife Pallister Begadon’s and Jake Fenton’s masterclass in small cast, small-scale direction. With only a mattress, a tea trolley, and a set of fliers, Cicada’s Children was able to effortlessly shift between scenes, and through a different orientation of props, express a change of perspective both literally and figuratively. Begadon and Fenton understood the power of limiting these props and refused to clutter the small stage. This choice added power to the props which remained, making a shaking soldering iron more terrifying than a gun or knife. Through their direction the space was used perfectly, not an inch wasted and a small room on the second floor of the Hilton Edinburgh was transformed.

A major tool used to achieve this transformation was excellent audio-visual work. Its presence elevated the show. The dramatic variations in lighting both expanded and contracted the stage at different points, shifting it from a wide street late at night to a dark cramped basement. The often present white noise was quietly unnerving and the music was deeply evocative.

Cicada’s Children is the sort of show that you come to the Edinburgh Fringe to see. It is a group of passionate, young performers trying and succeeding to create something interesting and original. Clever and entertaining, dark but amusing, powerful but subtle. Cicada’s Children is a great production, tightly wrapped in 50 minutes of runtime. All in all—quite exceptional.