A caravan and an approaching storm (fittingly entitled Hurricane Boris). The perfect description of a summer holiday in the best wee midge-ridden country in the world. And the opening backdrop of Carl Davies’ design for Eye Of The Storm in which a bright spark from The Valleys with aspirations to study extreme weather conditions at a university in Indiana (Rosey Cale as Year 11 student Emmie Price) is held back by a triple whammy of constraints.

A “mad as a box of frogs” mother (Llinos Daniel) for whom she has cared since the age of eight; poverty (they are forever behind in their rent of a static caravan whose power source is as unreliable as the owner is heartless); and gender stereotypes, personified by the “those who can, do; those who can’t, teach” Walt (Dan Bottomley) who narrows her horizons on the grounds that biology is “a more popular subject for girls” than her beloved physics.

But when she is reluctantly paired with a doting classmate (Dan Miles) to enter an inter-school science competition, to quote from another tornado-tossed heroine, a “rainbow highway” emerges from the “hopeless jumble” to offer her a way out of the eye of the storm that has engulfed her childhood.

Can she follow in the footsteps of teenage environmentalist Greta Thunberg and change attitudes towards global warming? Or, at the very least, can she change her environment to pursue her dreams? Questions which, by extension, are asked of the audience by writer and director Geinor Styles in a touring production for Theatr na nÓg (Nye & Jennie).

The themes are current (pardon the pun), as are the confessional lyrics and country tunes by the BAFTA and Grammy Award-winning Amy Wadge. Likewise, the character of Price whose looks, personality and drive match those of Thunberg.

But therein lies a problem: with no discredit to Cale who sings and acts admirably, the protagonist is too earnest to crack a smile or quicken the pulse of the audience. And, as such, a flatness pervades the production which, with its fixed set, static direction and domestic air, lacks drive and spectacle, which neither the live band nor video projections of Andy Pike can remedy.

Still, a worthy production performed by a fine ensemble of young actor-musicians who remind us that, when it comes to global warming and gender stereotypes, “something’s got to change”.

Peter Callaghan
Latest posts by Peter Callaghan (see all)