Upon entering the space, a performer is forcefully reciting poetry while two men in black hoods silently watch on. From the moment when the two men in black begin to interact with the poet, the piece becomes completely, viscerally, relentless. For the next fifty minutes or so, the audience bears witness to the brutality of a state against a dissident artist who will not give up his vision or ideals. The two soldiers curse at the artist and torture him, repeatedly, rarely changing their routine, which is a double edged sword for the piece. The repetitive quality of the artists experience, while vital to the story being told, forces the audience into a quandary: The mere act of bearing witness to atrocity (and what we bear witness to here terrorises) is vitally important, but after a while, it makes one numb and cold. A brilliant piece by BADAC at the 2008 Fringe, The Factory, was able to ratchet up the intensity by shifting the audience into smaller, more claustrophobic rooms as the piece progressed. Without that spatial transformation, the extremes that they inflict upon the audiences body and mind loses force and emotional power, which is replaced by aggravation and exhaustion.
