Jamie has been away from his home in rural Scotland for six weeks and on his return seems more distant.
He has been attempting to settle into university life in Cambridge but that assimilation into a very different world has led him questioning just what his own story is.
Home is a place that he used to find scary, but he can feel comfortable in the dark where he can’t find anyone else to blame. But blame he does, as he thinks that his protective mother, Bridie drove his father, Ruairidh away. She didn’t let young Jamie fly, at least not with his dad who is reduced to a memory of stubble, musty cinnamon and rolled cigarettes.
An absent parent might be the only thing he has in common with upper class Bertie in Cambridge who views him as a stereotypical confrontational Scot, belittling him for colloquialisms and the likelihood of him establishing drinking bragging rights with Buckfast and whisky.
As Jamie fights with his mum and his nightmares the truth of his parents 12-year marriage is exposed, the trauma and struggle showing that his father was far from the hero that he recalls. He is fighting hard to dive into the depths of his memories when he could let it wash over him. His relationships at home and in the outside world will be sink or swim.
This debut work is billed as being experimental and as pushing conventional theatrical boundaries to the limit. It uses a nonlinear structure and brief rewinds of scenes with slightly varied outcomes but otherwise is fairly traditional. It does not feel like the show that was envisaged.
The direction has clearly been given thought and the production, with a brooding quality, is not without power. The acting is good if a little melodramatic and the set and lighting design simple but effective.
An interesting new work but the various threads don’t ultimately resolve into anything impactful.
Show Times: 18 to 29 (not 23) August 2022 at 11.45am.
Tickets: £9 (£6) to £10 (£7).
Suitability: 16+. Contains distressing themes, scenes of violence and strong language.