The Croft – Churchill Theatre, Bromley

Writer: Ali Milles
Director: Alastair Whatley

Reviewer: Christine Stanton

“Mysterious Folklore“

3.5/ 5

~This review was originally written for The Reviews Hub ~

The deserted village of Coille Ghillie in the Scottish Highlands doesn’t get many visitors – the odd tourist on occasion, but they quickly leave due to the lack of phone signal. Laura, on the other hand, has been coming to her parents’ crofters’ hut since she was a little girl, comforted by the sensation of being cut off from the modern world.

A lot has changed since Laura (Gracie Follows) last visited the hut – her parents uncoupled, her mother passed away after a battle with cancer, and she has a new partner, Suzanne (Caroline Harker), whom she decides to bring along with her so they can share a romantic weekend away. But Suzanne is at a completely different stage of her life compared to Laura – she’s much older, separated from her husband with two teenage boys in tow – the boys that Laura used to babysit. Though they enjoy each other’s company, Suzanne’s anxious about being uncontactable, Laura’s frustrated about her lack of commitment and the unsettling feeling of their surroundings starts to make them feel increasingly more uneasy during their stay.

Based on a true story, Ali Milles’s folklore style narrative is intriguing, the foreboding sense of tension constantly present throughout each scene. Set across three time periods, the main storyline surrounds Laura and Suzanne, with occasional flashbacks to when she and her mother Ruth (also confusingly played by Harker) visited the hut together, giving an insight into her mother’s diagnosis and the impact it had on the family during that time. In addition to this, we’re also shown the 19^th century, where Enid (Liza Goddard) is being cast from her home during a contagion that wipes out the village.

This third thread doesn’t integrate as well compared to the other two, being so dramatically far removed in both time and style. It helps to explain why the crofters’ hut is haunted in the present day, but its introduction is initially slightly confusing. It would be helpful if it were slightly stronger as a plot point, and possibly even referenced as an old local story, in the same way the selkie gets talked about often. Additionally, it is a strange directorial choice having Ruth and Suzanne both played by Harker, with very little distinction between each character. Is it to highlight the similarities between Suzanne and Ruth, therefore explaining the grieving Laura’s decision to date an older woman? Or is it just a sloppily executed dual role?

Overall, it’s only really the execution of the time shifts that complicate and let down the production as a whole, because outside of these it’s an interesting story, with a lot of different themes and references – sexuality, feminism, religion, independence – that help to still build the enjoyable foundations of the show. If the time shifts could be more polished, and the characters could be more distinctive, the haunting intensity and the mysteries surrounding the crofters’ inhabitants would be easier to focus on.

Adrian Linford’s set design, combined with Chris Davey’s lighting design, is wonderfully done. The cosy hut, contrasting with the vast outdoors, immediately sets the folky tone. The haunting segments are well done also; the expected rocking of an empty chair or abrupt bulb bursting – although not things you wouldn’t have seen in other supernatural stage shows, they are still well timed and suitably spooky.

Runs until 7 June 2025 and continues to tour