The Moon Sails Out

An impressionistic short play about the artistic life of Federico Garcia Lorca, The Moon Sails Out doesn’t have much of a plot but still manages to be an impassioned love letter to a writer that many consider to be one of the 20th century’s greatest.

The play mostly looks at Lorca’s friendship with two other notable figures: artist Salvador Dali and filmmaker Luis Bunuel.

However, rather than giving a linear retelling of the facts, here Lorca is haunted by the pair as he awaits execution. We are given snippets of action that hint at each personality and how friendships that were at first productive became destructive. Because of this, it is best to not try figuring anything out but instead to sit back and enjoy each moment.

Each moment is well orchestrated by director Ed Robson. An impressive parade of images dance around the Cumbernauld stage, and the combination of design, performance and movement makes for some arresting images. Some are better than others, but the whole production teems with interesting creativity.

Imogen Toner makes for a rather good Lorca. She plays him as a quiet but passionate artist almost handicapped by inner conflicts, mostly fuelled by parental and sexual acceptance. However, she is upstaged by Jonny Austin’s over-the-top Dali and James McAnerney’s sinister Bunuel. The pair have all the big moments and enjoy chewing the stage, leaving Toner with little to do but react until the final, Lorca-centred ending.

It may be more Dali-esque in its vision, but The Moon Sails Out is still a well-intentioned celebration of a great writer. It may be short on context, but it is a very inventive play that is never boring.