The Scottish Youth Theatre’s Trajectories showcase has arrived at Edinburgh’s Summerhall, displaying four new emerging voices in Scotland’s theatrical scene. The bursary scheme offers young creatives the opportunity to develop their work under the artistic direction of Candice Edmunds, with each performer presenting an original piece of theatre.
Divided thematically, the TechCube showcase uses the elements as a framework through which to explore tension and unease in our surroundings. First is The Banshee, written and performed by Tsen Day-Beaver which jumps between the realms in Selia’s world: her tutor’s office, where she is refining her thesis, and the contrasting abstract and disturbing quality of her dreams. Tsen Day-Beaver expertly captures Selia’s existential torment – the challenge of reconciling a physical explanation of our environment against the abstract, nonsensical inner dialogue of subconscious. References to folklore and childhood symbolism beautifully convey this dichotomy, and complement Day-Beaver’s emphatic, contemplative monologue.
The second piece in this showcase, What We Lost in the Fire, takes an intimate, storytelling form. Members of the audience are invited to encircle the campfire – a thoughtful scenic metaphor, as not only is the fire central to the play’s physical format, but it is also closely tied to its ecological subtext. Sean Fullwood cleverly embeds the narrative of Prometheus and Epimetheus to interweave fire’s symbolic quality as the origins of humankind with its current, more sinister associations relating to the climate crisis. At times it feels as though Fullwood’s piece may be better suited to a different format – perhaps a more visual, two-sided dialogue, as at certain points the focus is hard to follow. Nevertheless, this did not detract from the ambition and creativity of Fullwood’s performance.
The Anatomy showcase turns to poignant social issues in two equally moving performances, the first being Bury the Soft Things, written and performed by Cormac Myles. Set in an archetypal unnamed small Scottish town, the protagonist becomes disillusioned with his surroundings after witnessing a brutal, homophobic attack uncomfortably close to him. Myles’ performance is incredibly convincing. His representation of the suppression of identity and the painful realisation that betrayal may be closer than expected is sensitively yet impactfully conveyed.
The final performance of the day is given by Amy Brennan-Clark, in another conceptually ambitious play titled Good Night, Ros? Brennan-Clark brilliantly embodies the duality of her character in the form of two starkly contrasting female archetypes: the overstretched and undervalued working-class mother, and the tragic Marilyn Monroe-esque “Hollywood’s newest ingénue,” whose success and fame is threatened by the looming expiration of youth and beauty. Although the shift is represented by the stylistic device of a pair of long red gloves – which Ros wears when becoming her Hollywood self – it seemed a missed opportunity not to use a bolder and more obvious form of lighting change to transition between the two personas. This would have helped the audience to follow the at times complex layering to the performance. Despite this, Brennan-Clark is not hindered by the challenge of inhabiting two contrasting personas within one performance. The audience is invited to reflect on the shared impossibility of womanhood across two seemingly polarised experiences.
Watched in succession, the two distinct and impressive showcases offer the unique opportunity to witness emerging Scottish talent in Summerhall’s intimate theatres.
Image by Andy Catlin, provided to The Student for press use.
