Following fairly significant fanfare David Greig’s new play, Yellow Moon, tells a familiar story of adolescent confusion and discovery via a fresh and distinct mode of storytelling.
‘Silent’ Leila witnesses Lee’s near-accidental murder of his mother’s boyfriend, and both go on the run; their goal is to find Lee’s estranged father. Along the way there are various moments where they nearly clinch happiness, but yet the story motors on against their will. There are over twenty scenes in total, each numbered and pin-pointed by the actors. By scene 15 Nalini Chetty’s Leila wants the story to end. Personally, this is the point where the play drew me in, and from hereon it gripped and held my attention.
Prior to scene 15 this Yellow Moon left me fairly indifferent. The mode of storytelling, while innovative, is frustrating. At least three-quarters of the dialogue is devoted to description and narration, each of the characters taking turns to reveal their own and each other’s thoughts and actions. All four actors give spirited performances (Andrew Scott-Ramsay is a young actor with definite promise), although sometimes Nalini Chetty’s dramatic delivery seems at odds with the stylistic choices made by the playwright.
Yellow Moon is worth a look, as David Greig is undoubtedly one of Scotland’s most intriguing new theatrical voices. And the last twenty minutes are genuinely tense. But be prepared for a slow burn until you get there.
[Oli Seadon]
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