The Shape of the Pain by Rachel Bagshaw and Chris Thorpe Edinburgh Summerhall

Summerhall was the centre of much interesting Edinburgh Fringe Programming this year

The phenomenon of Complex Regional Pain Syndrome affects present day sufferers and this play cleverly conjures the dilemmas that sufferers and their partners encounter in dealing with this very real experience but one which tests the nature of our beliefs.

This one woman play developed by Rachel Bagshaw and Chris Thorpe and performed with delightful candour and openness by Hannah McPake is gripping and fascinating

On the surface it is an attempt to describe the realities of phantom pain sufferers and its effects on their social and personal releations. It has also had the benefit of a fistful of medical Professors who have collaborated on the background. A remarkable monotone screen and set provides a digital text and graphic accompaniement allowing the audience to "enter the pain" not in a sadistic way but to understand its pervasiness and some of its dimension.

Deeper this is an examination of relationships, and the burden that sufferers and carers bear of trust, belief, patience, exasperation, dependency and disappointment. Its not intrusive

I suspect China Plate the production company have other plans for this show but if the tech can move without great impact we have programmers who would book this in Cornwall.

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