Driftwood By Martina Laird, RSC, The Other Place, Stratford Upon Avon, Runs: 2hrs & 40mins | 30 May 2026, one interval AD Performance Saturday 16 May 2026. ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Review by Roderick Dungate
Photo credit: Marc Benner
Driftwood
By Martina Laird
RSC, The Other Place, Stratford Upon Avon
Runs: 2hrs & 40mins | 30 May 2026, one interval
AD Performance Saturday 16 May 2026
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Review by Roderick Dungate
“A drama which fails to fulfil its promise.”
Driftwood sets out as a most interesting play. It’s a glimpse into a different country, a different culture, a different group of peoples about to free themselves from the shackles of an empire which thought it owned them. The play is set in a kind of bar, Alma (loosely translated as ‘soul’ in Trinidad). Mature Pearl runs this for the elderly white ‘master’ Mansion. The shifting relationship between these two and Pearl’s family – in the main daughter Ruby and son Diamond – can be seen as a microcosm of the political changes as the country votes on independence.
However, as the drama moves into the second half, family tensions grow. Diamond becomes embroiled in mafia type rackets via Tom (a US sailor) and others. The plot becomes overloaded with backstories, hints of incest and adultery and unclear. Characters begin to make speeches which increasingly sound like the playwright rather than the character. There is the clear, but unfortunate, feeling that the playwright, Martina Laird, in no longer in control of her writing.
This is a great shame as there is a telling sense of time and place. Moreover, there is strong acting throughout.
Ellan Thomas as Pearl, the mother, has great Prescence; she moves the drama along skilfully, she always has our full attention. Cat White as Ruby and Martins Imhangbe as Diamond, inject energy into the drama, keeping it aloft.
Roger Ringrose as the elderly owner, Mansion, captures the necessary balance between character and caricature; his appearances are always welcome.
Director, Justin Audibert, moves the narrative along well. However, a strong partnership with the playwright should have helped with the narrative clarity. At times, too, the performances sometimes become victims of a fashion evident in much strong UK regional drama seen on television today. Producers and directors fail to find the right balance between authentic dialect and accent, and clarity for audiences.
Cast
Seldom – Shane David-Joseph
Tom – Ziggy Heath
Diamond – Martins Imhangbe
Mansion – Roger Ringrose
Pearl – Ellen Thomas
Ruby – Cat White
Creatives
Writer – Martina Laird
Director – Justin Audibert
Sets & Costumes – Sadeysa Greenaway-Bailey
Lighting – Simon Spencer