Davie and Geordie are two teenage boys, the best of friends, just getting to the point in their lives where they begin to establish relationships with girls. Life would be fine if not for the existence of Mouldy and his gang who constantly pick on them. Mouldy, in particular, seems almost to be a psychopath. A new older boy, Stephen Rose, arrives to live with his aunt. Stephen’s father has died of a stroke and his mother is mentally ill. He himself howls at the moon, has a strange smell and a waxy skin, but he’s not afraid of Mouldy, so perhaps he’d be the ideal ally for the two boys. Davie is quickly drawn under the spell of Stephen and finds himself unable to pull away, particularly once he learns about Stephen’s apparent ability to bring to life the clay creatures he makes. Then Mouldy falls off a cliff and dies. Was it an accident or did Stephen’s clay being kill him?
Although this is an adaptation of a children’s book it is very dark and serious, exploring death, obsession, mental illness and alienation. There are no happy endings and no easy answers to the questions it asks. In fact, there are really no answers at all – the audience has to make up its own mind about what has happened.
This is the Yvonne Arnaud Youth Theatre’s first production to be performed at the Fringe and shows just how good a company it is. The acting and directing are excellent throughout and a complex, almost supernatural, story is brought to life in a very believable way.
[Alan Chorley]
Printer Friendly
