In the thick, rum-soaked air of a 1950s Port of Spain drinking club, Martina Laird's debut play Driftwood simmers with familial strife and the winds of political change. Set in Alma, a British-owned establishment run by a mother and daughter, the production at the Royal Shakespeare Company's Other Place captures the febrile atmosphere of Trinidad on the cusp of independence.
A Fractured Family
Ellen Thomas delivers a commanding performance as Pearl, the club's manager, whose basilisk glare masks a deep well of bitterness. Her maternal instincts are notably absent, as she dismisses her children with biting scorn. Ruby, played by an exuberant Cat White, runs a honeypot scam on unsuspecting tourists but yearns for escape from what she calls 'downtown hell'. The arrival of Pearl's long-abandoned son Diamond, portrayed by Martins Imhangbe with an unhurried, proprietary swagger, ignites tensions that have long been brewing.
Political Undercurrents
Laird weaves the personal with the political, as nationalist Eric Williams campaigns for election, urging Trinidadians to reject British rule and American economic encroachment. Calypso music with satirical bite punctuates scene changes, underscoring the island's restless spirit. Alma itself becomes a microcosm of the country: worked by Trinidadians yet owned by a British expatriate, an orotund bore who patronises Pearl as 'my tropical nightingale' and Ruby as 'a beautiful bauble'. Pearl, however, is ready for change, declaring, 'That wind is blowing like it's kite season!'
Emotions Dialled Up
While Laird's writing captures the tang of sour memory and the detail of dreams betrayed, the play feels in need of further refinement. Plot and emotion are dialled up to 11 but lack the impact they might achieve. Justin Audibert's heavy-handed direction relies on music to underscore emotive speeches, and the pacing ambles towards a flickering redemption that struggles to break the cycle of personal and political history.
Atmospheric Design
The production benefits from Simon Spencer's evocative lighting, which glides from amber over ink-blue walls to an eerie moss green for late-night confessions. The atmosphere is steeped in the heat and languor of the Caribbean, yet the crackle of dialogue is not fully ignited. Driftwood runs at the Other Place, Stratford-upon-Avon, until 30 May, before transferring to the Kiln Theatre, London, from 3 June to 4 July.
