Review: Shō and the Demons of the Deep, Platform

Shō and the Demons of the Deep is a new piece of theatre by Zoe Bullock, adapted from the work of Annouchka Gravel Galouchko and presented by The National Theatre of Scotland.

The city that Shō and her family live in has been plagued by dreams her whole life. She reaches breaking point and throws her nightmares out to sea but many years later, her family are suffering the consequences of the polluted water.

In modern life, everyone gathers up their nightmares in the morning and leaves them outside the house to be collected. They are disposed of properly and don't contaminate the water. It is up to Sho, now a grandmother to try and face her fears to help put things right. The underlying themes of the show are climate change, anxiety and grief.

The cast of three (Itxaso Moreno, Christina Strachan and Rebecca Wilkie) take on a variety of roles which works well and there is onstage BSL interpretation from Catherine King.

This production is aimed at audiences ages 8+ and there is a lot for younger audiences to enjoy. The nightmares are made of rubbish which are operated as puppets and look great visually. At sixty-five minutes, it runs a little long but overall it is a pleasant evening of storytelling.

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