Writer: Alex Maslin
Directors: Alex Maslin and Alex Fernandes
This play tells a dark tale. There are moments of dark humour, but the subject matter is grim. A young dead girl hangs frozen in the icy falls on the Isle of Skye. When the temperature warms, she will fall, being swept away by the water beneath. Monty Bulmer, attempting to rescue the body, falls himself and injures his leg.
The play begins as he crawls on stage while choir music plays in the background. The man is deeply religious and begs God for two miracles: to heal his leg and to exhume Emily. His relationship with God is complex, especially in relation to his father, who will do anything to keep himself and his son afloat. The play revolves around him monologuing his life to God.
James Grimm is a captivating storyteller, able to easily create different personalities for multiple characters. He seeks out and maintains eye contact with audience members, bringing them into the story. His relationship to God and the complexities this causes between himself and religion, and between family members, is also done very well.
This story, at times, feels rushed and key moments are quickly passed to get to the next point in the story. In addition, Grimm is an animated storyteller, throwing his whole upper body into the story. As such, this feels at times inauthentic because of the fact that his leg is supposed to be broken. The amount of pain is most likely tremendous, and yet Grimm only occasionally refers to the pain or the freezing temperature.
The sound effects really add to this performance. As dawn comes, the tide comes in and having the sound of waves slowly get louder gives an extra sense of desperation to the production.
A note of caution: this production omits an important trigger warning. Though some are listed, the desecration of a corpse is not. This is a key part of the story and greatly affects Monty’s relationship with his father, leading him towards a path of redemption. This error should be rectified as the subject is a heavy one. Not knowing does give an interesting twist to the production for audiences, but nevertheless, a warning should be presented for those who need it.
Runs until 7 February 2026
