Written and Directed by Beau Hopkins

Review by Dominic Corr

Touring

There’s a ritualistic pulse to SALT; a show that doesn’t just tell a story, but summons it. Staged at the newly revitalised Paisley Arts Centre, this production from Contemporary Ritual Theatre is a bold, elemental piece of theatre that blends folklore, grief, and community memory into something both ancient and immediate.

Set on the East Norfolk coast in 1770, SALT follows Billy, a pious young fisherman, and his domineering mother, Widow Pruttock. Their isolated life is upended by the arrival of Sheldis, a mysterious singer with supernatural gifts. As Billy’s obsession deepens, his mother’s fear of enchantment grows, leading to a visceral clash of faith, jealousy, and desire.

Beau Hopkins, who both wrote and directed the piece, crafts a poetic and muscular script, rich in sea shanties, hymns, and folk dances. The production leans heavily into ritual: songs and movement sequences recur like incantations. Hopkins orchestrates these moments with precision, allowing the ensemble to breathe as one. The cast move with purpose, their bodies often forming symbols or echoes of the sea. It’s a choreography of memory, and it’s deeply affecting.

The central trio are superb. Mylo McDonald brings a raw vulnerability to Billy, capturing the character’s spiritual torment and yearning. Emily Outred as Widow Pruttock is commanding and complex, her performance laced with menace and maternal desperation. While Bess Roche as Sheldis is magnetic, her voice haunting, her presence otherworldly. Together, they form a triangle of tension that drives the show’s emotional core.

Visually, the show is striking. The set is sparse but evocative: ropes, nets, and weathered wood suggest both shipwreck and sanctuary. Lighting by Zeynep Kepekli is used with care, shifting from warm amber to cold blue to reflect the emotional tides. Sound design by Max Pappenheim is immersive, with crashing waves and whispered voices creating a sense of place that’s almost tactile.

But the production isn’t without fault. The Great Yarmouth setting, while rich in potential, occasionally feels underexplored. There are moments where the specificity of place is lost in abstraction, and the narrative risks becoming too diffuse. The show’s ambition is admirable, but it sometimes overreaches, particularly in its second half, where pacing falters and thematic threads begin to fray.

There’s also a tendency to lean too heavily on symbolism, which can obscure rather than illuminate. Ritual is powerful, but when overused, it risks becoming aesthetic rather than emotional. A few scenes feel like they’re repeating rather than progressing, and the audience’s engagement dips as a result. Still, SALT is a compelling and courageous piece of theatre.

It doesn’t offer easy answers or tidy resolutions, but it does offer communion, a gathering of voices, memories, and truths. In a time when regional stories are too often overlooked, this production stands as a testament to the power of place and the resilience of those who call it home. At Paisley Arts Centre, SALT finds fertile ground. It’s a show that demands attention, rewards patience, and leaves behind a lingering taste; briny, bitter, and unmistakably human.

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