Maria CleasbyThe Croft is a dark and haunting tale of love and loss, framed beautifully against the rugged backdrop of the Scottish highlands. The story follows Laura, a young woman who returns to the croft her mother owned many years after her untimely death. What was intended to be a romantic trip with her lover soon turns sour as it becomes apparent that not only has Laura not come to terms with her mother’s death, but more than one spirit of the past still lurks in the shadows.
It is a gripping tale, added to by the howling wind and looming candlelit shadows which perfectly embody the remote wilderness of the highlands. More than once I find myself shivering after a particularly strong gust.
The transitions between past and present are skilfully choreographed and seamlessly executed. It would be easy to lose yourself in the complexities of the plot, which span from the late 1800’s through 2007 and up to the present day, especially as most of the cast play more than one role throughout the show. However, lighting, sound and movement all work beautifully together to give the piece a gorgeous flow that, whilst occasionally shocking, never feel confusing.
The cast has something of a mammoth task, switching between accents and characters with speed and dexterity. They create some very real moments of friendship and anguish, but overall there is a sense that a deeper emotional level is lacking. The themes explored are very intense, grief, trauma, abandonment, and yet the play feels much more about the mystery than it does about these issues. This is not necessarily a bad thing, the play itself is still great but it is a shame that a so clearly capable cast does not get the chance to completely invest in the potential emotion of the story.
There is also the confusing element of actors switching characters which, in some instances, seemed to make perfect sense. Arguably the whole notion of the piece is that we cannot escape the mistakes or events of the past and instead are doomed to repeat them until the cycle can be broken. In this interpretation then, having the same actor play multiple characters makes sense, they are, in a way, echoes of each other.
However, some decisions, such as the one to have Laura’s mother played by the same actor as her present-day lover (Caroline Harker) were more concerning than they were endearing. It seemed that perhaps there was more to that relationship that we did not get the chance to see and while the Victorian subplot adds a nice depth to the story, a more developed focus on Laura’s relationship with her mother would not go amiss.
Overall, if vaguely supernatural thrillers are your bread and butter then this is the play for you. Regardless of the arguable underdevelopment of some deeper themes, The Croft is beyond satisfyingly mysterious and surprising and will leave you longing for the hills of northern Scotland.
The Croft was on at the Cambridge Arts Theatre until the 14th March 2020. It has now closed. More info can be found here.