Salt

One of the many pleasures of the Arts Centre is the flexibility of its space, affording companies the opportunity to perform in the round when a production demands it. Contemporary Ritual Theatre are a new company that seeks out found theatre spaces, necessitating choreographing action without the benefits, or confines of, a conventional stage and proscenium arch. With the number of independent theatre groups roaming the village halls and community centres of Norfolk, I don't think this is as innovative as they imagine, but it does make for an arresting and immersive experience.

Given the combination of bucket-and-spade seaside resorts and London-on-sea second homes now found on the Norfolk coast, it's easy to forget the perilous lives of abject poverty experienced by past inhabitants, living off an uncertain catch of crabs and herring to sustain them. I get the sense Beau Hopkin's play is meticulously researched, given its raw authenticity, notwithstanding its occasional flirtation with magical realism. There's an underlying social commentary at work here, despite being set in the 18th century, which shouldn't be a surprise, given the company's base in Great Yarmouth, a town that has challenges of its own.

The play focuses on the claustrophobic and fractious relationship of a mother and son and their day-to-day struggle to survive on what he catches and she guts. The writing is lyrical, heightened prose, as one might expect from someone with roots embedded in poetry, and is leavened by sea shanties, dances, hymns and folk songs. The cast were, quite simply, excellent. Mylo McDonald played Billy, the manchild that is both physically intimidating and emotionally vulnerable, yoked to his mother, Widow Pruttock, by circumstance and loyalty. The Widow, wretchedly self-aware that her best days are behind her and stinking of the fish she rips the guts from, is fearlessly played by Emily Outred, investing an essentially unlikable woman with heart-breaking humanity. For the greater part of the first half of the play, the two joust and squabble, revealing themselves in fragmentary asides and vicious conflict. All the while, Bess Roche prowls the circumference of the rope circle the pair are trapped within. The physical manifestation of Billy's unconsummated lust for a different life, she remained just beyond the other's field of vision, as familial conflict worked its poison on an already difficult relationship.

Admittedly, I say this with the benefit of hindsight, for while I found the narrative to be intense to the point of discomfort, the tightly directed action compelling and the tone seductively queasy, I would be fibbing if I pretended I knew exactly what was going on all the time, at the time. Judging by conversations during the interval, both engaged in and eavesdropped, this was the general consensus. I think it was partly due to the staging, which meant that much of the dialogue was spoken with the actor's back to part of the audience, and frequently blocked by someone else. A solid attempt at the Norfolk dialect was to be welcomed, but did then contribute further to obscuring what was being said. I wasn't too concerned by this, content to absorb a general impression, but the couple next to me harrumphed that they couldn't understand a word, and went off in a strop during the interval. If, as I understand is the case, the company intends to present outdoor versions of the play, it is an issue they need to attend to, not least as the handful of people who voted with their feet missed out on an altogether more coherent and narratively satisfying second half.

Bess Roche stepped into the ring of rope like a force of nature, as Sheldis seduced the hapless Mylo, deftly pivoting him away from a mother/son relationship, as assuredly as Roche's heady performance shifted the emphasis of the play. Granted there was some theatrical business involving skull hats, and then more involving playing cards, which went over my head, but this was easily compensated by whirlwind performances from the whole cast, that built up the atmosphere to fever pitch. Some confusion remained, at least for me, at the plays conclusion, and a swift, unscientific straw pool informally conducted afterwards suggested this wasn’t just me being dim. It was all the more frustrating as I'm convinced that the story was there, and that it was a good one, if only the writing had allowed it to clearly emerge. This is something seen time and again with Writer/ director productions, particularly when the cast are also deeply invested. There is no second opinion to take a step back and objectively judge the narrative coherence of the text. When everyone knows what is going on and have, no doubt, discussed motivation and context endlessly, it must be next to impossible to judge whether an audience will readily understand what they are seeing.

Nevertheless, it’s a testament to the quality of the acting, the strength of the music, and the tightness of the direction, that I still found the production compelling. There was so much to admire in this bold production and one, let’s not forget, which filled the Arts Centre to capacity in the middle of the Norfolk and Norwich festival. I find it hard to believe that such an assured production is their first, and while 'Salt' is already a worthwhile contribution to the region's theatre, I’m convinced we can look forward to even greater things to come.