The Croft, written by Ali Milles, Directed by Alastair Whatley, until 14 June, 2025, The Rep, Birmingham (and touring), 3☆☆☆. Review: Dan Auluk.

Photo Credit: Manuel Harlan.

The Croft, written by Ali Milles, Directed by Alastair Whatley, until 14 June, 2025, The Rep, Birmingham (and touring),

3☆☆☆. Review: Dan Auluk.

Running time: 2 hours 5 minutes (with an interval)

“An intriguing story but neither thriller or ghost story.”

The play is set in remote Scottish Highlands where two women (Laura and Suzanne) arrive at a former Crofters Hut in the deserted village of Coille Ghillie to get away from all the noise of the city and to focus on the joy of their relationship. There are no phone signals here and they are cut off from the outside world. The tension of this and the uncertainty build up slowly before their weekend away starts to unravel in unexpected ways.  Both are drawn into the dark and unsettling history of the Croft and the lives that passed before them.

The Croft is described as thriller and ghost story, a family saga, a story of hatred, love and the persistence of memory. I felt The Croft certainly captures elements of all this through the direction, writing, set design, costume and conceptual quality of the past and present colliding on to each other. Although I was intrigued in the first half, I felt there was too much going on in the second half and the final reveal was disappointing but poignant. The Croft was neither a thriller or ghost story and lacked the quieter moments to explore grief and a sense of haunting or the potential of magical realism.

The talented cast worked well together and felt authentic; but the playing of multiple characters left me a little confused at times and felt rushed in terms of dialogue and costume.

The set and lighting design almost worked for me as it captured the feeling of being remote and a little spooky, but the large rectangular structure behind the house as an atmospheric landscape was too over-powering and took away from the focus of a haunting. I also felt the jump scares were few and none of them necessary carried the narrative forward. Some of the traditional tropes of a haunting like a rocking chair and flickering lights did not particularly add to the tension. The disappearances of characters from one timeline into another was almost faultless and this worked for me. I was less unsure when timelines crossed as multiple characters collided in terms of movement direction.

The sound design worked well but I felt it needed to be more of a character in its own right – perhaps more discordant sound at key moments or simply more moments of just silence and the gentle hum of what is to come.

The writing worked well for me but also there seemed to be a lot left for audiences to work out, especially understanding more about Selkies which are apparently shape-shifting mythological creatures found in Scottish and Irish folklore. Who is a Selkie in this play and who is not left me unsure but perhaps this allows for a second visit or debate with fellow theatre goers.

I feel The Croft is certainly one to experience and see how it develops further as the potential in the writing and direction perhaps in other settings. Hopefully another iteration can be more chilling and unsettling.

Cast

Liza Goddard – Enid

Gracie Follows – Laura/Eileen

Caroline Harker – Suzanne/Ruth

Gray O’Brien – David/Alec

Simon Roberts – Tom/Patrick

Russell Layton - Ronald

Creatives

Producer - Tom Hackney

Written by Ali Milles

Original Direction by Philip Franks

Directed by Alastair Whatley