With a blend of incredible acting, interesting staging and a unique plot, SALT bewitches the audience, pulling them fully into the god-fearing, magic-steeped year of 1770 on the East Norfolk Coast.

One factor that makes SALT so enrapturing is its sense of rhythm and movement. The actors whirl around the stage wildly,  only to stop in perfectly-timed evocative poses. They crawl and rise onto tiptoes with a grace and fluidity that creates a dreamy and incredibly effective sense of the characters being billowed by unseen forces of god, magic, and nature.

The flow and rhythm is aided by the excellent staging. Shown as theatre in the round, the audience are drawn in from the opening moments as the actors slowly stare around, making eye contact with those in attendance before grabbing a length of rope and forming a circle where the action takes place. The circle feels like a barrier – characters crossing into it go from being voyeurs to being seen, while those who stand outside it mirror, echo and watch, creating a sense of omnipresent haunting.

This is most effective when Man Billy, played by Mylo McDonald, is followed and mirrored by his mother, Emily Outred’s Widow Pruttock. The overbearing mother is a phantom who follows and drapes her presence over him from outside the rope barrier. It’s a unique, thought-provoking, and excellently executed way of conveying codependence and abuse.

The cast are truly excellent and their characters are complex, often violent and unlikeable, but they imbibe them with energy and spirit as they blend lyrical, tumbling dialogue parsed with rough, bawdy back and forths in a way that makes the action on stage feel startlingly real and important. Widow Pruttock is steeped in anger, trauma, and fear and Outred expertly weaves through the play, shifting from desperation to rage beautifully. McDonald offers a stunning, complex, and full-bodied performance as he jumps from manic giggles to guttural groans, parsing complicated emotions into an unforgettable portrayal. Bess Roche’s Sheldis manages to capture the careless and flippant, yet deeply wounded, character well and does so with effortless depth and charm. Her curse-ridden rants are a highlight that make the world on stage feel fully realised.

Notably, songs sung by the cast are the only sound used on stage, and there is a moment where the audience join in with clapping as the actors stomp their feet, shaking the entire auditorium. It truly feels like a ritual is taking place. Indeed, Contemporary Ritual Theatre (CRT) are true to their name as they manage to embody folklore and myth in a way that feels steeped in tradition, yet fresh and vital

Overall, SALT is an exquisite and immersive piece of theatre that combines incredible acting prowess with a fascinating plot and innovative staging to create a unique and visceral experience.