Having received much praise as a producer, Ellie Keel has turned her hand to writing. In her first piece of drama, presented at Summerhall as part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2025, Keel initially confuses with what this drama is all about. You have to wait until the end to discover that it’s less of a thriller than you might have expected.
Annie with twin sister Preeney, brother Brawn, and much younger brother Sammy, are on holiday in Skye with their mother. Mother, a non-functioning alcoholic, spends most of her days incoherently unable to care for her children, leaving Brawn and Annie as the two surrogate adults. At one point, whilst out at the beach, Sammy and Annie see a man they believe to be their father. The problem is that four years ago he died in a car accident. Annie and then Brawn set out to find him and what unfolds is a tragedy of more than just the loss of a father.
Marching through various possible scenarios – that your father is a ghost, your father has left you and found a new life, and that your mother has lied to you over his loss. The possibilities affect each of the choices made by Brawn and Annie, leading to following their heart and not their heads.
The play begins with Annie sitting down in a production studio, talking about what happened all those years ago to a single camera projected on the screen in front of her. Steele then breaks into a 15 minute near monologue, with fellow actor James Robinson, playing the English production assistant/director, chipping in short questions. Just before you think that is all that he is going to contribute to the production, Robinson leaps into action as Brawn who arrives, launched from his seat mid stage, and the narrative metaphorically takes a leap: it builds and becomes more dynamic. That is not to say that Steele could not hold that monologue for a further 30 or so minutes admirably, but the story requires much more than a solo telling of it.
The inclusion of a second voice brings comic interchanges, and an opportunity to share and physically build the relationship, effectively selling the emotion of the story with the complexities of more than one view. In short, from there it engages more effectively.
Humour is ploughed and interaction with the audience used to extend the scope of a story physically defined within this small island of Skye, as little ripples become tsunamis of hampered emotions. Brawn’s drinking has consequences unforeseen, until it is far too late. Before then, Steele and Robinson principally perform the interaction between brother (Brawn) and sister (Annie) as well as playing each of the other characters. This includes a scene arguing over who can play their sister, Annie’s twin, the best which works really well.
At the core of this is an engaging story, told effectively and well. Directed with skill, the technical inclusion of the filming to which Stelle returns during the show adds massively to its impact. There is a keen eye on maximising the impact of all the theatre arts: lighting is effective, costume appropriate and the use of the stage with the set having a table top beach scene hinting and delivering for us contact with the idea of holiday without having to import it wholesale into Summerhall.
Skye intrigues, draws us in, talks to us about what it is that it’s all about and then surprises us with an ending that I don’t think many will see coming. It is a greater tragedy than the one that Annie sat down at the beginning to tell.
Skye: A Thriller. Summerhall 31st July – 25th August various times
Review Date: Wednesday 20th August 2025
