Review: Semi-Skimmed (Airdrie Arts Centre)

Something creepy is happening in a field in Falkirk

Scottish elections prove one thing more than anything else – what Scotland thinks of itself. We aren’t just voting for what we would like to see, but what we think best reflects the character of the country, deep down. The same question arises for Scottish performances that go to the Fringe. So many want to differentiate themselves from the international, but mainly the English, performances that dominate the major venues. Ironically, many end up trying too hard and creating a sickly-sweet concentrate of what the Scottish character actually is. And that’s just theatre – comedians are even worse for it. So it is refreshing to find a show like Semi-Skimmed, written and directed by Cormac Myles, which performed two sold-out performances in Airdrie before performing in Edinburgh later this year. It isn’t special because it’s about Scotland, but because it feels like it couldn’t have been written anywhere else.

Harri and Bridget haven’t spoken to each other since their friend Kai went missing on a camping trip near Falkirk. With Bridget about to leave for University with her mysterious new roommate, Bridget and Harri decide to revisit the field to try and make sense of that terrible night. You can expect the typical “small town” tropes – talk of “getting out of here”, the betrayal of dreaming big, imaginations wandering to the strange and unsettling out of boredom. Familiar though they are, they are used to construct a great mystery with superb dialogue. In these characters there is a stubbornness, a biting sense of humour, and a hidden vulnerability that feels authentically Scottish.

When Bridget’s new roommate, May, enters the picture, tensions rise and jabs that are both hilarious and revealing are thrown around. All these characters feel perfectly constructed for a one-act play like this, and at the same time, they feel like people you went to school with. It helps that the cast have undeniable chemistry. Each has moments when they steal the spotlight, but the standout among them is Kady Smith as May. May is a sinister know-it-all with a talent for making people feel small. If this were 2007, Smith would have killed it as a character in Skins.

Photo Credit: Caitlin McLeish

Semi-Skimmed doesn’t give you all the answers, and for some one-act plays, that feels like a cop-out, but here it feels very intentional. We’re left scared for some characters, and fearful of others. It is elevated by a production and design so strong that it takes you by surprise. There are fairy lights overhead, faux grass underfoot, and a fully erected tent I didn’t even see until I was leaving. It has been put together with love, yes, but also a rare precision. The real pull of the whole show is Myles’ writing and direction. He shows himself to be an exciting talent, not just one to watch, but one you wish you’d known about sooner. Four stars.

Semi-Skimmed has completed its run at Airdrie Arts Centre