The Silver Darlings

The Silver Darlings is a nostalgic theatre production that is well produced but also feels completely safe.

Set against the backdrop of the 19th-century Scottish fishing industry, the story is both a coming-of-age tale and social drama with historical ties set in a small community.

The production is quite handsome. Director Kenny Ireland has created a very fluid staging for the play, with split scenes and complicated choreography helping in the storytelling. He uses his ensemble of 10 players well and the cast are onstage for the majority of the time, even if they are merely serving as witnesses to the narrative.

John Harris’ lighting design is mostly simple, with the occasional flourish for ambiance, and Hayden Griffin’s set and costumes all serve their purpose well but hint at a much nicer environment than history suggests.

The ensemble plays multiple characters, each owning at least one solid creation that proves memorable, but the production belongs to its three leads. Tom McGovern makes for a likable Roddie, a successful fisherman who falls for Catrine and serves as mentor and father-figure for her son, and Meg Fraser also does well as Catrine, a complicated character who could have easily come across as cold but is played as smart and passionate.

The best performance of the production belongs to Finn Den Hertog, who plays both Catrine’s son (also named Finn) and her lost husband. Hertog’s performance is commanding but also has the greatest range. He plays Finn’s coming-of-age tale honestly, and it’s very easy to root for him, even when he behaves badly and makes poor choices.

However, with all of these strengths, the production still feels rather hollow. The first half plays nicely but has little emotional reverb, with only small sections and the final scene giving much payoff. Things greatly improve in the second act when scenes are allowed to carry much more emotional weight, especially between Catrine, Finn and Roddie, but there are still many moments throughout where it feels as if there was more time spent on overall style than substance.

Reviewed at the King's Theatre, Glasgow in September 2009.