THE GHOST MATCHMAKER, Glasgow Student Theatre - Edinburgh Fringe (Online)

What does it mean to cross the line between life and death?  Why would a spirit be trapped in the mortal plane, not alive but not quite dead?

The Ghost Matchmaker explores how a grieving couple can discover the secrets of their dead son and free him from the land of the living to give him peace into the next life.

Written and directed by Alexandrina Lucas and performed by Glasgow Student Theatre, the concept is good but it sometimes lacks depth to keep the audience engaged.

There is no obvious build up to the characters emotions or investable connection to the words, which makes it hard to invest in the characters.  There is also no clear relationship between the roles, particularly the parents, so it is hard to gauge what they are feeling towards each other.

Leo Shak as Hugh has some nice moments but isn’t on stage that much. Sheneli Jayasurilya as The Ghost Matchmaker is the most believable character but has a whole scene that is unexplainably performed with her back to the audience and the decision to have her wear a large brimmed hat that hides most of her face is a little distracting.

As an audience, we are expected to believe that ‘the twins’ are teenagers that have only ever lived in the same place, yet one has a thick Scottish accent and the other American.

With a plain black backdrop and most of the costumes also in black, the actors are often swallowed up.

The piece does, however, contain some beautiful animation between scenes. It’s just a shame that the same effort isn’t consistently spread throughout the rest of the piece.

The story has a lot of potential, but sadly this version did not have us on the edge of our seat.

** Two Stars

Reviewed by: Rachel Louise Martin

The Ghost Matchmaker is available at Fringe Online.