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BrumHour saw The Croft at the invite of Birmingham Rep.
By Dave Massey x.com/BrumHour
The Croft at Birmingham Rep: Review
⭐⭐⭐⭐”A modern folk tale”
Directed by Alastair Whatley, written by Ali Milles
Set across different years, The Croft explores the lives of generations of women in the same Scottish two-room stone cottage with a few little jump scares along the way.
The story throws the audience into the lives of Laura (Gracie Follows) and new girlfriend Suzanne (Caroline Harker) as Laura returns to the house after many years. We jump forward and backwards in time from this moment and the story unfolds with details of folk stories of the past.
The singular set is the front room of this stone cottage with one chair, one small seat by the fire and an ottoman style box in the corner, there’s a small kitchen with a few hobs, sink and kettle. These items remain as we go into the past. Are we seeing ghosts? Or have we travelled in time too?
Most of the jumps are mainly for the audience, just to keep them on their toes, it doesn’t really push forward the narrative though. This story is mainly about the performances, Liza Goddard is excellent as Enid and far from the usual characters I’ve seen her play throughout her TV career. Gracie Follows and Caroline Harker are engaging as the new couple, working things out.
It took me a few moments to work out what was happening with the storytelling as the time jumps are seamless, but this production left me considering it for hours after.
A modern folk tale, The Croft is at Birmingham Rep until 14th June. Book tickets here: birmingham-rep.co.uk/whats-on/the-croft.
