It’s thirty years ago, and Annie and her family are spending the summer at their holiday cottage on Skye. On one beautiful day when she and her siblings are at the beach and her mum is drinking herself sick at the house, they see their father in the distance. The problem is that their dad died four years prior.
This sighting and its possible explanations catalyse a series of events that haunt Annie to this day. Finally ready to share what happened, she responds to some sort of callout for ghost stories. This light-touch framing device, simply consisting of a man filming Annie’s hour-long contribution, gives Annie’s tale a wider context and purpose so often lacking from plays that rely on a narrated form of writing. Though the use of the live feed is sparing, it’s effective when it is utilised. Debut playwright Ellie Keel effectively paces the action to generate suspense, which positions the play towards the genre of horror, but it’s not quite there. This genre defiance is a bold choice that pays off.
The story is both acted out and told in the past tense. This back and forth switching between styles, along with Alice and the camera operator multi-rolling as other characters, ensures the play is consistently dynamic. The two performers are excellent, with Dawn Steele as Alice giving a barnstorming turn as a middle-aged woman traumatised by this part of her childhood. Overall, this is a polished, sophisticated yet intimate production.
SKYE: A Thriller, Summerhall, until 25 Aug (not 12, 18), 3pm, additional performances 19 Aug, 9am, and 18 Aug, 11.50am