Writer: Lucy Bell
Director – Natalie Simone
When we first meet Sheridan, sole character in this one-woman show, she is climbing the scaffolding round a renovated church spire in rural Devon to have a word with God. Her monologue is a mix of questions, down-to-earth anecdotes, hymns, psalms and moments of more lyrical wonder. She channels other unseen characters: the posh, oversharing vicar, the Liverpudlian speech therapist, and – most crucially – the cryptic monosyllables of her daughter Joelle. And she gives a very human account of the difficult facts of her life.
A play about a single mother struggling to look after her non-verbal adult daughter doesn’t sound like a great night out. But the writer of Scaffolding, Lucy Bell, draws on her own experience of parenting a disabled child to create a nuanced and compassionate piece, seasoned with disarming flashes of humour and some inspired imagery. An air fryer is compared to transubstantiation; a character runs out of the pub, “leaving behind his pint of Proper Job like a glass slipper”. The flowering Devon lanes are both ornament and obstacle.
Performer Kerry Norton navigates the role of Sheridan with physical and emotional skill. Her words are notionally addressed to God, but directed mostly at the audience. The image of a watchful, often unresponsive interlocutor parallels Sheridan’s attempts to communicate with her daughter.
Natalie Simone’s direction is largely deadpan and naturalistic, whilst the movement sequences, directed by Karla Shacklock, evoke a different kind of dance-drama, more abstract and symbolic. A bungee-jumping episode and initial climb up the spire successfully convey a vertiginous quality. At one point, Norton hangs from the bars as if crucified. The more balletic movements sit oddly with the everywoman persona. They suit the play’s trajectory better as it becomes less plausible and more metaphysical, but sometimes seem like awkward breaks in the hyper-real narration. The inconsistent tone and mix of the mundane and otherworldly could reflect the strains of living with irreconcilable emotions.
The scaffolding itself is the only set, created by Ella Barraclough, a box of metal poles and dust sheets that often serves to minimise space on an already-small stage. It is the literal scaffolding on the church, but also a metaphor for support – or the lack of it – and often feels more like a cage. Rachael Duthie’s lighting, with its glowering blue and orange, enhances the intermittent sense of claustrophobia. The sound design by Joseff Harris is an elegant mix of noise and music. This is a script and soundscape that would work brilliantly on the radio, but perhaps lose the confronting quality it has on the live stage.
Scaffolding was originally created by the Devon-based company Documental Productions. It was developed with Bristol Old Vic and staged at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2024. It’s a bold and important project that doesn’t always succeed, but raises challenging questions about disability, faith and community.
Runs until 27 September 2025
