★★★★
Contemporary Ritual Theatre’s Salt is a visceral and haunting tale of jealousy and passion. Set in East Norfolk in the 1770s, Widow Pruttock (Emily Outred) lives with her son Man Billy (Mylo McDonald) who is desperate to avenge his father’s death by pushing the man who killed him overboard. Terrified of his temper and fascination with death, she keeps him locked inside, begging the local fisherman not to take him on board. Yet when he becomes infatuated with the mysterious Sheldis (Bess Roche), Widow Pruttock goes to extreme lengths in a desperate attempt not to lose him.
The performance area is littered with buckets and other nautical-themed décor. In the middle sits a bundle of thick rope. As the lights dim and the audience fall silent, the actors come on stage and unfurl the rope into a circle, which becomes the main stage for the performance. Not only does the rope fit well with the theme, it is also an effective tool in helping us to follow the plotline. The actors never switch off; even when they are outside the circle, they are very much still within the show. They are like ghostly presences, mirroring some of the others’ actions and occasionally appearing to be seen by the actors in the scene.
The three-strong cast are all extremely strong in all aspects of the performance. Their voices meld together beautifully, and their ability to fill the room with sound is astonishing. They vocalise, from high pitched whistling to low guttural growling, and use the props scattered around the stage to imitate sounds of nature, brilliantly setting the scene. It all fits together so seamlessly it is like they can read each other’s minds, and each beat is perfectly in time.
The characters are very complex and portrayed well by the actors. At the start, it is difficult to discern Billy’s age: he is very childish yet his gruesome descriptions of murder are very unsettling. This does become clearer as Salt progresses, but is disorientating at first. His mum is both strong in her resolution to keep the village safe from Billy’s wrath, yet her vulnerability shines through during Billy’s nasty verbal barrages. The contrast between her daily pessimism and drunken happiness after the first successful day of herring selling is one of the highlights of her performance.
Yet it is Roche’s performance of Sheldis that is the most captivating. With a black mask of makeup over her eyes, she exudes intrigue from the moment she steps on stage. The character is full of complexities; her graphic depictions and maniacal laughter are in stark contrast to the sweetness of her voice and lightness of her movements. Just when we think she is becoming normal, the mask falls and she reverts back to her strange ways.
All of this is tied together by strong physical theatre. Their movements are precise, and weighed down with a heaviness that seems particularly fitting. It is especially effective during the scenes which deal with more sensitive topics, as a poster outside the studio advises us. Considering the play’s unflinchingly graphic descriptions of death, it’s not unreasonable to assume these scenes will be the same. But the choice to depict them almost entirely through movement is an effective one, as it prevents them from becoming too much in a show that is already unsettling.
It is a very highly executed performance, but the combination of archaic language, strong accents and occasional jumps between scenes makes it difficult to follow. It’s only in the second half that the plot really picks up and Billy’s infatuation and his mother’s jealousy is evident. The ending also feels disappointing, with too many disturbing themes thrown in.
Unsettling and eerie, Salt certainly isn’t a light-hearted piece of escapist theatre. The cast are hypnotic, sucking us into their mythical world. While it is difficult to keep up with all the plot details, the exceptionally strong performances more than make up for this.
Salt is currently touring the UK. A full list of dates can be found here.
Words by Ellen Leslie
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