Review of Tay View, Dundee Fringe

By Lucas McCall

Tay View, a one-man theatre piece written and directed by Scott Duncan (the_zoloft_project), made its debut at the Keiller Centre as part of the Dundee Fringe. The piece follows Des as he grieves the loss of his son Jamie after he took his own life, only weeks before, in the River Tay.

We are introduced to Des, raw and fragile, as he makes his way through a bag of Jamie’s childhood toys, drinking progressively as the night goes on. Over a few days we see him clutch on to anything that reminds him of his son, including his guitar, his journal, and even the River Tay. Des attends a support group for people grieving the loss of a loved one, however it’s a few weeks of attending and hearing other members stories before he feels comfortable opening up himself.

At times the narrative was fiddly to follow, although in the final act when Des opens up at his support group, everything is pulled together clearly. In the monologue, he re-traces his journey, from his decline into drinking, panic attacks and daily visits to the Tay; to how things begin to look upwards, how he feels hopeful for the future.

Ending the show on such a high point leaves the audience with a very optimistic view on the grieving process. Within only several weeks, it is difficult to represent how shaky and unpredictable that rollercoaster can be. Regardless, Duncan’s performance was promising for greater productions to come.

Something that really stuck in my mind was Des describing that he felt he was “floating through time”. This is something many people grieving can relate to, and this small line truly displays the care and research Duncan has poured into the show.

An incredibly fascinating part of the show was Des’s connection to the River Tay. As he came to visit the Tay, the place his son took his own life, every day, we see his emotions transform. The first visit is nauseating; he can’t even look at the river for fear of seeing his son’s body. But day after day, he finds the beauty in the river, he sees it in a light he never has before, and he is completely consumed by that pull to the Tay. He feels this is one of the few places he can feel calm. Some incredible imagery was communicated to the audience through only what Des tells us. Finding such comfort in such a traumatic place was a captivating part of the production and something the audience will not easily forget.

Keep up to date with Scott Duncan’s current and future projects through the_zoloft_project.