Hearts on Fire

In 2009 three devotees of new age guru James Arthur Ray died in the Arizona desert while taking part in a spiritual retreat. This site-specific play from Edinburgh favourite Peculius Stage is a flawed but fascinating dramatisation of the tragedy.

The star of the production is the venue – a Native American sweat lodge built in a Victorian office block in Edinburgh’s Old Town. It’s a wonderfully disorienting experience to tramp up endless grey staircases to be welcomed into a claustrophobic cocoon of multi-coloured canvas with a floor of sand and rock. Desert noises piped into the intimate venue complete the illusion as the tale unfurls – the line between audience member and performer becoming blurred as the unhinged "motivational speaker" invites audience members to transform themselves from "peasants" to "spiritual warriors."

While the surroundings are the undoubted highlight, Nigel Barber is the main human attraction, bringing a real danger to the emotionally unstable Ray. No simple villain, his motivation is as questionable as his sanity.

Sadly his wannabe acolytes lack any such characterisation, coming across as simple stereotypes: the hippy backpacker, the father having a midlife crisis, the rebelling privileged girl and the bored middle-aged woman. As the heat rises in the lodge and the gruesome denouement arrives, it’s hard to feel any emotional attachment to these cartoonish characters, and the closing scenes feel rushed.

Even with these faults, Hearts of Fire can claim to be a true Fringe experience which will stay with you long after August ends.