Review: SALT by Magdalene Bird at Theatre503 13 – 17 Sept 2022

‘compelling family drama meets eco-thriller … a timely piece about a pressing subject.’ ★★★

In the London of the future, clean drinking water will become the stuff of fiction. This is not only the premise of SALT, the new speculative drama by Magda Bird, directed by Laura Clifford, but our potential future reality. Unless vast numbers of leaks are repaired and we learn to recycle water, 25 million people in London and the South East are perilously close to running out of clean drinking water, a study from Oxford University in 2018 revealed.

In this parched urban landscape, where water rations have been introduced and Londoners can only use water at certain times of the day, three noisily squabbling sisters haul a tree up a hill to honour their late father. Alan Powell, a Lewisham MP who campaigned to save London from clean water deprivation “one drop at a time” has been murdered. His three daughters form a close unit, and are compelled to not only grieve his loss but continue his cause.

The dynamic interplay between the three contrasting sisters provide the dramatic backbone of the story. Each represents different parts of the political spectrum. Rhu (Lisa Diveney) is the left leaning, community- radio, empathetic one, Tess (Sara Lessore) is the stiletto-heeled, quaffing capitalist and irrepressible Eve (Ella-Rae Smith) is the most hedonistic. Apparently, her father’s favourite, this youngest daughter is seemingly the least able to take responsibility for herself or others. Amid the tumbling, sparky dialogue, tensions mount as allegiances and secrets are revealed.

In this compelling family drama meets eco-thriller, conspiracy theories abound about how “clean” an MP Powell actually was and what may have led to his killing. On a minimal, stripped-back stage (designed by Helen Hebert) the melting ice caps form an abstract reminder and scene setter. They are there in the first scene and will be there in the last. In this thought-provoking and absorbing production, the audience is left to reflect on the nature of ownership and responsibility alongside corruption and greed, which seems to surface wherever there are humans and profits to be made.

SALT was shortlisted for Theatre 503’s 2020 International Playwriting Award and longlisted for both Matchstick Theatre Company and 2021 Papatango New Writing Award. On the back of a sweltering heat wave and recent hose pipe ban, SALT is a timely piece about a pressing subject.

Jake Curran-Pipe and Theatre503 present

SALT

Theatre503

13 – 17 Sept 2022

Written by Magdalene Bird

Directed by Laura Clifford

Box Office https://theatre503.com/whats-on/salt/

Reviewer

Nilgin Yusuf recently graduated from a four-year Creative Writing degree at Birkbeck, where she discovered a dormant appreciation for theatre, scriptwriting and stagecraft. An experienced author, lecturer and journalist (ex-Sunday Times, Daily Telegraph and ELLE) Nilgin is developing her first full-length stage play, supported by Mrs.C’s Collective and the Arts Council.