Written by Maria MacDonell

Performed with Leo MacNeill

Review by Josie Rose

The Scottish Storytelling Centre: Tickets

Choosing one of the most loaded words as its title and central theme, ‘LIFE’ takes us on a journey. Yet, rather than being mere passive listeners to our protagonist Estelle’s gripping story, the audience can capture it themselves. On a mere blank piece of paper, this piece of art creates artists in its viewers.

As audience members enter the theatre, paper and pencils are gifted to them, and this hour becomes a life-drawing class. For those most eager, on-stage seats are available, together with easels and drawing materials, as the play extends its interactive nature. Throughout, we hear Estelle, our model, at first wishing rather to be in the nude as we sneak into her mind while her story comes to life.

Maria MacDonell and Leo MacNeill have created something truly innovative, unique, and inspiring together. Not only have they gifted an audience with an exciting and clever piece of theatre, but they have also allowed their audience to share what they have seen and heard through their own designs on the page. Both actors carry the performance through with passion and enthusiasm, delicately paving the way through the story’s peaks and troughs as we hear faint scribbles in the moments of silence.

In the simplicity and stillness of the entire play’s concept, watching a model sit introduces us to vast and complex themes and messages unlocked in what we create. You get the sense watching this play that we are not all just communally watching but thinking, generating, and crafting art. After all, that is what theatre is for.

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