His Ghostly Heart is a one-act play about guilt and loss, a spooky two-hander which takes place entirely in the dark with only shadowy figures of the two protagonists visible throughout.

Tom and Daisy are in bed making love but their pillow-talk soon takes a disturbing turn when Daisy refuses to let Tom turn the light on after a used condom is mislaid. She says that she doesn't want to be seen because she is 'disgusting'. Tom tries desperately to persuade Daisy she is beautiful but only succeeds in making her increasingly agitated and miserable. He warmly recalls how they first met – on a cold night after a university ball - but Daisy doesn't want to hear any of Tom's romantic words and accuses him of only being in love with himself. A slightly off-kilter feeling starts to build up when Tom repeatedly demands to tell Daisy what he would say at her funeral.

Half-way through the play, the tone shifts dramatically as formerly-weak Daisy takes the upper hand. She talks about how great artists always seem to become 'imposters of their previous selves' and acuses Tom of being such an imposter. She turns on Tom and is revealed to be a ghost dreamed up by her former lover's guilty conscience. A decade has in fact passed since the couple broke up and Tom is stuck in an unhappy marriage and living in a Travelodge after being caught cheating with a work colleague. Daisy starved herself to death a number of years earlier and Tom didn't even attend her funeral, far less speak at it. As the line between past and present, fact and fiction continues to blur, Daisy drags Tom to his personal hell - a hell where he must look at himself honestly for the first time and take responsibility for his actions.

Both cast members are excellent in overcoming the obvious obstacle of not being seen during their performance. Being unable to convey emotion through facial expression or gesture the actors place more emphasis on tone of voice. The strong performances mean that it is intriguing rather than frustrating that the characters' faces are never seen.

James Rose gives Tom a nicely-judged sympathetic edge early in the performance before stripping away the character's layers of charm to reveal a man who is selfish and solipsistic. The character's light Scottish brogue works well in tandem with Marina Niel's well-to-do English accent. The implication of a financial, geographical and class chasm between the couple only increases the tension as they spar.

Marina Niel paints Daisy as a simple victim for the first 15 minutes but, when the power shifts, she swiftly changes her tone of voice and speech patterns to become increasingly terrifying. The brisk dialogue written by Ben Schiffer ensures that the play whizzes along at a satisfying rate and the half-hour running time means that the play never outstays its welcome. The various revelations throughout the performance ramp up the tension and, combined with the blacked-out conditions, lead to a genuinely disturbing conclusion with complex religious undertones.

Cast Credits: (alpha order): Marina Niel – Daisy. James Rose – Tom.

Company Credits: Writer – Ben Schiffer. Director – Dan Herd. Producer – Mady Niel. Lighting / Sound Technician – Neil Sowerby. Image / Poster Design – Rosie Roberts. Logo Design – Emma Houlston. Photography – Sean O'Meallaigh. Producer - uncredited. Company – Girl Next Door Theatre Company. Website - www.girlnextdoortheatre.co.uk.

END

(c) David Hepburn 2009

reviewed Tuesday 11 August / Pleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh UK.

Fringe Report (c) Fringe Report 2002-2012

www.fringereport.com