SKINNYFEST 3 - 'Wreckers'

The Medieval castle is not the practical, homely abode it once was. Better living conditions, coupled with the decline in popular demand for moats have seen grand fortresses turned into tourist attractions. Wreckers follows a Scottish family on a quest to preserve their manor - a large estate on a remote Hebridean island. Any expectations of staid familial drama are quickly shattered when Julian, the drug-hungry pimp whose exploits have landed the family at the centre of a tabloid scandal, returns to the loving arms of his psychotic mother and brutish, overbearing father. When he is sent to prison the situation deteriorates and secrets are exposed which threaten the family's thin veneer of normality.

Angus Graham-Campbell's script is quite good. The family model is complex enough to merit the convoluted relationships, awkwardness and dark history which is exposed throughout the drama. The euphemistic dialogue is fitting for an upper class household - issues such as sexuality, drugs and even happiness are avoided, just as real parenting was sidestepped in favour of boarding school. Interesting is the interplay between traditional wealth and the nouveau riche, with Callum, the island's industrialist, talking sense amidst so much aristocratic ignorance. Generally, this is an involving piece of Scottish theatre that, although reliant upon stereotypes, offers up an authentic portrayal of class conflict in modern Britain.