KELI @ Royal Lyceum, Edinburgh
Martin Green's KELI features some dazzling performances but feels overcrowded
You would be hard-pressed to find anyone who doesn’t feel a smidge of nostalgia when listening to the swell of a brass band, but for mining towns, a band means more than your average Salvation Army Christmas appeal. It’s a symbol of struggle, tradition and community.
Martin Green’s debut play, KELI is about the pressures of living within that tradition, where coal is everywhere but opportunity is scarce. Rebellious teenager Keli (Liberty Black) is constantly reminded of the responsibilities she fails to live up to. With a dead-end job, college work and a mum scared to leave the house, band practice is the one place she can control. But when she’s offered the solo for the band’s national finals in the Royal Albert Hall, will Keli buckle under the pressure?
Liberty Black certainly doesn’t. She delivers a vibrant professional theatre debut while remaining on stage for almost the entire show. Black is powerful as Keli while she explores the chink in the character's armour, often mid-battle. Even when the play wanders into strange tonal shifts, from London raves to getting stuck down a hole with a 135-year-old local folk hero, Black remains a constant delight. Green’s brass band score is the culmination of years spent immersed in this culture. Brought to life by the Whitburn Band and Kingdom Brass, the companies alternate shows as well as the responsibility of proving that the passion is in the live musical performances.
Phil McKee, Liberty Black and the Whitburn Band in KELI. Photo: Mihaela Bodlovic
That is why it was disappointing when I struggled to feel that sense of community. The issues stem from an oversaturated plot, resulting in a build-up of tension with nowhere to go. For instance, all of Keli’s tenor horn solos are played by the admittedly wonderful Andrew McMillan. We hear that release in Green’s music, but what we see is Keli standing calmly at the side. KELI is at its best when it remembers to invite the audience into the rich cultural community it is trying to pay homage to. However, at times, it gets buried under so many details it struggles to come up for air.
KELI, by National Theatre of Scotland and Lepus Productions, touring Scotland until 14 Jun
nationaltheatrescotland.com/events/keli