Plenty of Fringe shows are interactive, but what happens when the audience are the only performers? Ontroerend Goed’s Handle with Care at ZOO Southside (Main House) answers that with beautifully organised chaos.
Per their press release, Ontroerend Goed is not coming to the Edinburgh Fringe this year, but they are sending a box. Is it a care package? It says ‘Handle with Care’. Someone is designated to start the show, which occurs over 10 scenes that are laid out in the third scene, titled ‘Scenography’. There are numbered prompts for each scene which can be handed out to audience members over the course of the show. However, it is made clear that if someone does not want to perform the prompt or scene, it can be handed to another audience member.
In one section, some audience volunteers read notes from previous audiences. For us, this included a note that the box was set on fire at the end of the show, and another stating that the audience got pizza and there were enough slices for everyone. Our drink orders were taken. Our box was destroyed, though not burnt. Our note to future audiences was very simple but impactful.
Due to the nature of audience participation and the potential choices made throughout, the show is different every time, though one presumes there are similarities across performances. For instance, the opening scene must be basically the same. The third scene must be basically the same. Thinking about the underlying structure required to create such organised chaos is fascinating. It is relatively low-tech, though there are moments where smartphones are required, such as having one audience member play background music through most of the show. It is also not gamified or structured like a video game, but there is a sense of forked paths and, quoting Robert Frost, roads not travelled in alternate realities that we cannot retrieve.
There is also a wonderful sense of togetherness. I’ve been fortunate to participate in a few different productions with similar ideas of collective audience action which create a genuine community, and these opportunities are far too rare in ‘participatory’ or ‘interactive’ theatre, a genre broadly trying very hard to be meaningful in a spacetime that feels disjointed and meaningless. This one actually feels worthwhile, as no meaning or deeper emotion is thrust upon you. So, if a little fun with new friends sounds like a good time, catch one of the last Handle with Care performances at ZOO Southside (Main House) before the end of Fringe 2026.
Listings and ticket information can be found here
