Driftwood at Kiln Theatre

Driftwood, the debut play from Martina Laird, is an emotionally charged family drama set in 1950s Trinidad.

ALMA, a gentleman’s club in Port of Spain, has been peacefully thriving for years. Run by Pearl and her daughter, Ruby, for the house’s English owner, Mansion. Mansion is thinking of heading back to Blighty for good, while Pearl and Ruby are trying to secure their own future in their home, each wanting to take ALMA when Mansion leaves. This is further complicated when Pearl’s long-lost son, Diamond, shows up.

Ruby and Diamond strike a deal with an American Navy man to store mysterious “goods” at ALMA, while Pearl simply fights to keep the only home she knows.

There are rich undertones of colonialism throughout Driftwood. Even in the dying embers of British rule over the island, it seems that everything is decided and controlled by either the British or the Americans.

But the march towards independence has begun, perhaps best represented by the characters’ desires around ALMA. Pearl wants what’s hers, what she’s worked for all her life. While Ruby and Diamond want to forge something new and make the place theirs. ALMA is a metaphor for the island, while the characters are a metaphor for the shifting political tide.

Meanwhile, the show is fun and funny, and it’s sad and brutal. It’s a powerful and impressive debut from Martina Laird that settles into itself in the first two minutes, ebbing and flowing beautifully after that.

Despite an occasional accent slip, the cast performs fantastically. Cat White’s Ruby particularly dominates the stage, even when in the background. Her perfect, subtle reactions to hearing certain information or figuring things out are an essential part of the play. Martins Imhangbe is larger than life as Diamond, showing great range throughout, and Ellen Thomas makes for a snapping and pensive Pearl.

The stage at Kiln Theatre has been transformed into the old house that the characters all care about so much. It’s a nice bit of staging; the set fills the space, showing the grandeur of the house, while the warm lighting puts the characters into the heat of Trinidad. And a single lightbulb tricked out to flicker gives the house character.

With its gripping drama, punctuated with interesting historical context, occasional humour and strong performances, Driftwood is a good all-round show that almost everyone will enjoy.