BLACK Hound Productions was formed in 2016 at Frome, by a group of young friends who had met in various productions at the Merlin Theatre. Now the company comes back to its home theatre with three performances of at the Edge, a new play co-written by BHP artistic director Patrick Withey and writer Melissa Dart, and performed by Ollie J Edwards and Hungarian/Swiss actor András Gönczöl.

Ironically, it started at Frome as the promised rains finally came, and the unfamiliar sound of rain on the roof intensified the story of two young men on their 365th day of isolation from the decaying world, living in a ramshackle structure as they scan the horizons looking for drowning humanity and saving lives. The floodwaters are rising, migrants are arriving by leaky boats, and people are drowning.

Dec and Tom do much more cataloguing of abandoned clothing than saving lives …. it’s too late for that.

During their months together, they have forged a way to live that involves games, jokes, rituals and a camaraderie, but as the 75 minute play progresses the audience realises how little the men really know each other.

Tense and tautly written, the claustrophobic story changes mood, tempo and intent and the audience sits forward, listening more intently as David Bowie sings from the crackly radio and the desolation creeps in.

at the Edge is powerfully polemic, challenging assumptions, and nodding to a humanity threatened from all sides. The performances are mesmerising, gently unearthing new aspects of the story with wit, violence, political passion and personal grief. It leaves you thinking, and will do for a long time.

GP-W