Ghosts of the Near Future by Emma + PJ – Summerhall, Edinburgh

Emma and PJ are a new performance duo and their first show, Ghosts of the Near Future, is a mysterious and inventive contemplation of reality. Using simple but effective techniques including live projection of maps and miniature landscapes using a tiny, handheld camera, they create a truly original piece of nuclear American Gothic. Sandwiched between anecdotes about childhood experiences, cats, trees and death, they lead us into a Nevada landscape stalked by gun-toting preachers, cocktail-toting show girls and a magician, planning the ultimate disappearing act on a Las Vegas stage. Their deceptively simply, homemade storytelling techniques breeds layers of meaning, encompassing the nuclear industry of the Nevada deserts and the end of time. The show does not follow any templates and generates its own, blurry and intoxicating atmosphere. Magic and climate change fuse, while a scrolling text blinks out existential angst, PJ drinks pure gasoline in a ruined desert bar while Emma wears a mushroom cloud hat. It’s a show full of personality and personal obsessions which link effortlessly to the things that are secretly worrying us all. Ghosts of the Near Future is a perfect Fringe show, and looks very much like the start of an important theatrical partnership.