Written by Ellie Keel

Directed by Matthew Iliffe

Review by Moyra Jones

Summerhall – Tech Cube 0

SKYE: A Thriller, Ellie Keel’s debut play, follows the story of a family grappling with trauma, set thirty years after a life-changing incident. Annie, played by Dawn Steele, recounts the events in an interview with a crime thriller show host, portrayed by James Robinson.

The set is minimal – just a camera, a table with a ball, some sand, and a bucket. Both actors wear all black, keeping the focus firmly on the storytelling. And it is Steele who dominates. She masterfully pulls the audience in, initially shifting between speaking to the camera and then, as if the memory is expanding, breaking outwards and using the full stage. As she does, the space transforms: we are suddenly on a beach in Skye, decades earlier. Haze drifts like sea foam, and David Doyle’s lighting paired with Hattie North’s sound design transport us seamlessly into Annie’s memories.

Matthew Iliffe’s direction and Rūta Irbīte’s set design tie everything together with restraint and precision. The car scene and chase sequence are especially striking – perspective shifts between the two actors in a car, then through puppetry and live-feed video, creating a gripping sense of motion and tension.

As the story unfolds, Robinson is drawn into Annie’s memory as other characters in the story, notably Bron her brother. Keel’s writing handles this with delicacy: his entrance feels gradual and organic. From there, Steele and Robinson build the drama together as the story drives towards its climax. Where the production falters, however, is in its emotional impact. You expect to be gutted by the revelations, but instead the genre-blurring approach, while clever, leaves a faint sense of hollowness.

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