FLYING Cloud’s five-strong cast brought to life a piece of new writing from Turtle Key Arts.

Spanning 1,000 years and incorporating themes of human identity, diversity, religion, faith and society, this play squeezed some huge existential themes into 75 minutes.

As a stand alone play, this was an ambitious endeavour. The balance between the story itself and the human truths it was exploring heavily favoured the latter. The dialogue was richly embedded with precious gems of wisdom, while the narrative acted as a scaffold.

The simple but atmospheric set was composed of a pale stone arch and sheer hangings on to which evocative lighting effects were projected.

Despite being laden with metaphor and symbolism, the performance was delivered at a measured pace, with soothing doses of sung prayer and well transitioned scenes and time shifts.

Set in a post revolutionary society living rigidly by the “rules” from The Book, one of the guards is exhorted by an old woman to read The Book for himself. This begins a journey of discovery back in time to when the old woman was a young radical who conceived of a “library of life” which would hold all the texts of the world’s religions.

Further back in time, Foraya, a royal woman, is inspired to clandestinely write The Book, ultimately on cave walls. The discovery of these writings in the present day draws the play to its conclusion that creativity is divine and that it is “our turn to write our story in the library of life”.

Thought provoking, intense and beautifully rendered, this was an engaging piece which could barely fail to stimulate some fascinating postperformance debate.

Christina McIntyre