Funeral review – hushed rituals provide deep communal catharsis

Zoo Southside, Edinburgh Belgian theatre company Ontroerend Goed create a sombre, dreamlike atmosphere in this piece about funeral rites and mourning We queue up to give the names of our dead. Carving a still, quiet space for communal grief, Ontroerend Goed’s Funeral is a hushed ceremony which shifts from drawn-out stately ritual to sweeping collective catharsis. The performers are not so much actors as facilitators, as together, in a room wrapped in black gauze, we are given time to mourn. Numb bums abound as we sit on pew-like logs watching a slow, ritualistic listing of the objects, experiences and memories that make up a life. The grave pace lends this Belgian production far more to intellectual analysis than emotional impact; I feel nothing for a long while, and then I feel it all at once. At Zoo Southside, Edinburgh, until 27 August All our Edinburgh festival reviews Continue reading...
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