A submarine dive klaxon and red light signals that Isla has entered uncharted and potentially troubled waters.
Not that she thinks she has problems, she’s fine and as soon as she doesn’t understand the world, she will do something about it.
But that day might be closer than she thinks as the pain and confusion of dealing with the death of her father in a submarine accident is pushed back to the surface when she witnesses the demise of an old lady in the supermarket. She is haunted by the events seemingly mundane arbitrariness and her faith in humanity is rocked when nobody comes to her aid.
The person she runs to for help is her deceased dad, as she fears her grieving mum has lost the plot and her force of nature grandmother, who smokes 20 a day, eats fried food and drinks like she has two livers, has prognosticated that Isla has “The Doom”.
Seeking normality and social independence at university, a flatmate with three toasters and a lot of pet birds, a potential love interest and a demanding tutor won’t help things sinking to deeper levels of strangeness. The day of incomprehension has arrived.
This is an imaginatively scripted and well produced look at love, loss, humanity and the near impossible task of living a normal life while mourning.
It doesn’t exactly plumb the depths of emotion but it’s quirky, fresh, funny and very engagingly told.
Show Times: 2 – 28 August 2023 (not 15, 22) at 2.05pm.
Tickets: £10.50 (£9.50) to £12.50 (£11.50).
Suitability: 14+ (contains distressing or potentially triggering themes and strong language, use of haze).