Sea and Land and Sky

Gore, and lots of it. Red-smeared nurses’ outfits and military uniforms. Corpses lying with missing limbs while severed hands dot the stage.

Bombs explode and bullets rain, bringing more blood effects onto the set while some characters go mad and others discuss the slaughterhouse of battle in matter-of-fact dialogue.

You can accuse Sea and Land and Sky of a few things, but a rose-tinted, romantic view of war is not one of them.

The play follows three Scottish nurses who serve the British military on the Russian front in 1916. Each has their reasons for being there, and it becomes clear quickly that none of them are ready for the onslaught of violence they are expected to mend. Their stories are played out as the enemy charge and retreat, leaving too many wounded for the women to help.

This production is the start of a new-writing initiative at the Tron called Open.Stage, and it is easy to see why it was selected for production. Abigail Docherty’s script has a mature outlook on the futility of war; it never condescends, instead simply presenting the facts and letting the audience judge the characters for themselves.

Some of the plot points seem a bit too over-the-top, but little feels forced or out of place, and the end result is a play that feels rich in character, plot and dialogue.

Andy Arnold has created an intense production that embraces the brutality with glee. No act of violence is watered down or hidden from the audience, and the design concept furthers Arnold’s front and centre approach to the story by making sure everything is clearly experienced. Bombs and explosions echo, the lights flash and bleed while the set looks shell shocked and ready to collapse out of despair.

The cast of five are equally solid in performance. Paul Riley and Tyler Collins are both very good as soldiers Thomas and John, but it is the three female performances that stick out. Mairi Phillips’ Millicent is a tortured soul whose actions are completely plausible, the descent of Laura McMonagle’s Ailsa into madness is as heartbreaking to watch as it is outrageous and Carmen Pieraccini’s Lily teeters between avenging angel and voice of reason.

By no means an easy production to watch, Sea and Land and Sky is still impressive. It doesn’t say anything remotely original, but it does say it with authority.