The Whistling
The Whistling is a new play adapted by writing duo Rachel Wagstaff and Duncan Abel from Rebecca Netley’s hit novel.
The play follows a young woman, Elspeth, who arrives on a remote, fictional, Scottish island to be a nanny to a young child, Mary. She learns that, for reasons no one will explain, Mary has not spoken for months. We also discover that both Elspeth and Mary have had losses: Mary has lost both her mother and brother William, and Elspeth has lost her beloved sister Clara.
Mary’s silence is not the only mystery. Ethereal Scottish lullabies drift through the empty corridors, along with hooded ensemble, who are used to change and move the set in a fluid, choreographed way. Creepy dolls appear in abandoned rooms. Strange ritualistic items are found in Mary’s room, and elsewhere in the house. What happened to Mary’s late twin, William? Why did their previous nanny Hetty disappear so suddenly? And what is the whistling Elspeth hears at night?
Elspeth was well played by Rebecca Forsyth, who really showed the wide eyed innocence of the young nanny, trying to help the young child in her care, whilst growing more and more suspicious about the weird goings on in the gothic house and the island.
The night I saw this, young Mary was delightfully played by Sophie Bidgood, but I was also really pleased to see the other two young Mary’s Ivy Evans and Saffron Haynes in the audience supporting her and their fellow cast on press night. Sophie perfectly played the mostly silent Mary, who found the courage to speak towards the end. Well done!
The rest of the cast also played their parts well. I particularly liked Jonny McGarrity’s performance as multiple characters including the island curate Robert, but also his contrasting roles as the doctor and Paterson. Raghad Chaar, as housemaid Greer, portrayed this suspicious character well, and kept us guessing whether her motives were ill or well intentioned.
Where this production worked for me, was in the staging, with the combined efforts of director Joseph Pitcher, illusionist Guy Barrett creating stage magic and special effects, joint movement director Alex Christian (with Pitcher), all working well to provide the air of mystery and danger, and set designer Diego Pitarch, costume designer Natalie Titchener, sound designer Simon Arrowsmith, and lighting designer Richard G Jones working together on the look and feel of the piece. The team helped to create the isolated island and creepy house, and the community thriving on gossip and mystery.
I especially liked the boat at the end, and how that was created on stage, without giving anything away, from the sea walls that were on stage for the non house scenes…and it was particularly effective when out at sea!
For me, the ending felt a little contrived, but there were still plenty of shocks and surprises, and I did enjoy this play.
As ever, the welcome and the evening at The Mill is what makes the difference. We were piped in for the evening by a bagpipe piper, and even the lovely food at dinner had a Scottish theme, complete with salmon and scotch whisky cream sauce, neeps & tatties, and cranachan! And for those Mill aficionados there was still the famous steak and ale pie!
This show was reviewed on the 4th October 2024 at The Mill at Sonning, Berkshire where the show runs until the 16th November 2024. Tickets available here: Mill at Sonning
Review written by Ruth Hawkins
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Photo credit: Pamela Raith
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