A story of inter-weaving plots that skip through time and sinister happenings, ‘The Croft’ is not a play for the faint of heart. This story covers a multitude of themes from discovering your sexuality, spiritual beliefs, the significance of family and the overwhelm of grief. It’s important to note that there are hints and themes around suicide and cancer, should that be a trigger for anybody wanting to see this play.

Entering the auditorium to the sounds of the sea sets the scene perfectly for the Ali Milles script. You’re immediately transported to a beach-hut, with a set that was gorgeously simplistic but effective. Showing the shell of a hut with one furnished room, including part of a tattered roof and just a cloth as an outside backdrop, yet with small modern twists such as a kettle on the counter, this set really gave the perfect imagery for the plot. Outside the ‘hut’ was a simple jetty-type ramp, insinuating the closeness of the sea and used in a way that made lasting impact, particularly in Act 2.

I must take a moment to compliment Chris Davey for his lighting; it was done incredibly well. I was particularly impressed with the candle effects and how corners of the set were able to be made so dark that you genuinely couldn’t see any movement from the actors as they switched between scenes and timelines.

Speaking of transitions, director, Alastair Whatley set these scenes to be seamless. With the cast often playing multiple roles through different timelines, each movement was carefully thought out and done in a way that didn’t take away from the plot – right down to ghostly appearances at the window of the hut that you didn’t see people enter the stage for.

What made this show work the most, however, was the casting. Each cast member gave a believable performance and had relationships on stage that made you really invested in their story. It was a shame that the sound seemed to not be quite aligned, as all the sound effects and music were very loud and then the dialogue quite quiet in areas. We were slightly delayed at the start due to technical difficulties, so this may be to do with that and hopefully not a reoccurring issue for their run.

Whilst all the cast were great to watch, I wanted to give a special mention to Caroline Harker, who played Suzanne but also transitioned into playing Ruth. This transition was so well done, and she changed her mannerisms in such a way that you made the link between Ruth and Suzanne that Laura had also subconsciously seen. It was done in such a way that it didn’t then need to be made clear through dialogue, but instead could be hinted at in the script and left for the audience to read into. Harker played both roles brilliantly, and the chemistry with Gracie Follows’ depiction of Laura was extremely authentic.

Gracie Follows is another cast member I’d like to highlight, both for her accent work when moving between characters from Letchworth and the Scottish Highlands and for her truly beautiful singing voice at the end of Act 1. She gave a haunting performance that captured the audience and brought us along for the journey with her.

All in all, ‘The Croft’ was full of surprise twists, heart-wrenching storylines and edge-of-your-seat moments – including some jumps and sped-up heart rates! Apart from the sound issues, I thought it was well written, and the vision translated well to the stage, with some great direction and casting. Act 1 seems to deliberately leave you a little lost and confused, with Act 2 tying everything together yet still leaving you with unanswered questions at the end. It was fun to walk away and hear everybody discussing what they interpreted the story to be.

There was one line that particularly stuck out to me: ‘Buildings leave a residue of the past’. This show is a capture of a past long gone that was all too real for many, and I hope more people go to see it while it’s touring. Whilst the technical issues did let it down slightly but the plot and casting really do stand out on their own.

Review by Laura Bradley

The Croft is on at The Churchill Theatre until 7th June and then continues touring. You can find out more on their website here.

If you like this review of The Croft you might also like my review of Radiant Boy at Southwark Playhouse, Stranger Things The First Shadow and Witness for the Prosecution.