Turn the Cloth peaked my interest in merely its synopsis; promising scares, music and viewpoints on tradition updated for modern audiences.
1989. The first storm of winter hits a small Scottish town, bringing with it obligation, tradition, and a spirit hungry for a wife. Bonds are tested, secrets revealed, and the ghosts of the village’s past invade the present.
Isla Rose Perkins plays Maura, the sensible, head screwed on, modern sensibilities having character that the audiences views this story through. Perkins’ defiance in the face of any mention of folk-tales and scary stories feels justified. This portrayal of Maura makes the audiences sympathise with her and the surroundings that would drive any sane person mad. Perkins’ vocal performance is great, reaching far beyond the back row, all this while working incredibly well off of all her stage partners.
Greer Montgomery plays Blythe. Montgomery has a trickier task of mainly portraying for flashback scenes but still leaves a big impact; instantly capturing the audience and delivering some effective scares in the third act. The relationship between Blythe and Maura is portrayed very well by both Montgomery and Perkins and is easily one of the best parts of the show.
Niamh Cox is Eilidh. Eilidh is a closed off/uptight character that the audience have all met at least once in their life and know all too well. Cox plays this part incredibly well, making Eilidh unlikeable but only just enough to later on make her reasoning for being so incredibly understandable. With a little more projection to the very back of the auditorium needed so the audience don’t miss any of important lines in the, sometimes quite lengthy, dialogue scenes Cox’s Eilidh is a believable and realistic portrayal throughout.
Emma Comfort is Kirsty, the naive, shy and scared member of the group who has the audiences sympathy the entire time. No matter how many times she is teased by Maura, Comfort always manages to keep a warmth and softness to Kirsty that is lovely to watch. Comfort and Cox (good name for a band) have the task of singing an old folk song and maintaining a beat that is entrancing throughout and this is utilised to great effect later on in a rather climactic way that sends a chill down the spine.
Eve Miller does a brilliant job telling a chilling, atmospheric and small-small scale story through the writing and through the apt direction of this piece. Asking some important questions that we accurately never get the answer to while fitting them into a gritty folk-horror is a true sign of the talent Miller has at crafting stories that need to be told. The lighting, sound design and music choice all help add to the isolation, fear and oppression that these women are subject to. Miller uses the performers well and they are all very acutely cast. The simple setting and set design is contrasted nicely with a sophisticated and intricate audio experience. However, there are a few moments in the first 20 minutes where actors are sat on the floor on stage, making it impossible to see the action beyond the second row, which is a shame as the audience wants to see the hard work that has been put into the production. With a bit more blocking to the audience/venue this problem would disappear and the attention would remain on the performances at hand.
The music and sound were a little too loud at times but most of the time they only brought growing anxiety and dread to the setting that was handled very well by Sound Designer and Technician Molly Cavanagh.
Overall Turn The Cloth is a spooky yet heartfelt story that tackles some important and sensitive themes in an effective way while making the “imaginary” ghost stories feel very, very real.
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