Up Out O' The Sea: The Stage

Carrie, a young writer, is sniffing around a fishing village, asking questions about a lifeboat disaster 30 years ago. Meanwhile, just off the coast, a shipwreck is about to be raised from the depths and, with it, some long-buried secrets from the lives of Mrs Jope the librarian and fisherman Dolphie.

After a choppy beginning that strives too hard for comic effect, Andrew Holland's new play gradually finds its sea legs and by the second act settles into a satisfying voyage to a moving emotional destination thanks to a seaworthy ensemble performance by its five-strong crew of actors and a steady hand on the helm from Eastern Angles' founding director Ivan Cutting.

Effective use of Ian Teague's simple but colourful set, accompanied by good acting to evoke the windy outdoor scenes, takes us fluidly from beachside fisherman's hut to library to rugged cliff top, while Lisa-Marie Hoctor's periodic appearances as a long-dead girl (perhaps a ghost or maybe just a memory) proves a compelling way of bringing the past alive in front of our eyes while Mrs Jope (Lisa Tramontin) tells her tragic story.

The script would benefit from trimming some unnecessary story threads while further exploring others. Some important plot moments should be more boldly flagged up. But, over all, the piece has a winning warmth. The confident, naturalistic stage presence of Mike Aherne (Dolphie) and Laura Harding (Carrie) gives the production some ballast and helps steer the proceedings well clear of the rocks.

Douglas McPherson