Black Mountain (2026)
by Brad Birch
Performances: Tuesday 21 – Saturday 25 April 2026, Old Fire Station
Contents
Introduction
Rebecca and Paul are running away, trying to save their relationship. But you can’t run forever, especially when you’re being followed. A tense psychological thriller about betrayal and forgiveness.
Preview from SLT website
What drew you to directing Black Mountain?
The tension at the heart of it. It’s a play that looks simple on the surface but underneath it’s constantly shifting, withholding, and revealing. That’s incredibly exciting as a director because it asks you to stage not just what’s being said, but what’s being avoided.
I was also drawn to the emotional ambiguity. There aren’t easy answers or clean resolutions to the problems of Paul, Rebecca and Hele. The play invites the audience to sit inside uncertainty, which feels very true to life and, I think, very compelling in a theatrical space.
What’s the appeal of Brad Birch’s writing for you?
Brad’s writing has a kind of quiet precision to it. It’s economical, but loaded. He doesn’t over explain, which means the actors and the audience have to do some work. That’s where it becomes alive.
There’s also a rhythm to his dialogue that I really respond to. It can feel naturalistic one moment and then suddenly tip into something more heightened or unsettling. That balance between the familiar and the strange is where the play really lives for me.
Tell us about the characters we’ll meet, and the themes the play explores
At its core, the play is about three people who are bound together by a shared past, but who have very different relationships to it. You have characters who are trying, in different ways, to assert control both over their own narratives, over each other, and over what is or isn’t true. As the play unfolds, those attempts start to fracture.
Thematically, it explores our openness to emotional honesty and truth when relationships are at their most testing. There’s also something in there about complicity and how we participate in shaping each other’s realities, sometimes without fully realising it.
How have you found the directing process with a small cast?
With a small cast, there’s nowhere to hide, in a good way. Every shift in energy, every line, every silence carries weight. It’s been incredibly rewarding. What it allows for is a really forensic level of detail. We’ve been able to spend time testing different interpretations, and building a shared understanding of what’s happening beneath the text. It also creates a kind of intimacy in the room, which I think translates directly to the audience.
It’s your debut at SLT — how’s it been for you?
It’s been a really positive experience. There’s a strong sense of commitment and generosity within the theatre, which makes a huge difference when you’re putting something together. Everyone is there because they care about the work, and that creates a really good environment.
Describe the show in three words
Unsettling. Intimate. Disturbing.
Cast
- Paul - Gabriel Read
- Rebecca - Nat Demarchuk
- Helen - Milka Sholaya
Crew
- Assistant Director - Joanna Asia Rob
- Stage Manager - Caroline Durant
- Lighting Designer - Thomas McCarthy
- Sound Designer - Ben Farnham
- Operator - Graeme Kaye
- Set Design - Alistair Simpson
- Choreograher - Kurban Kassam
- Trailer Filming - Ben Geddes
- Show Photography - Phil Gammon and Asia Rob
- Rigging - Sean Thomas and John Winters
- Set Build - Alistair Simpson, Alice Seglias Padin, Tiru Thiruvilangam, cast and crew
Special Thanks
Lisa Thomas, Yasmine Kassam, and all the SLT volunteers who make shows happen.
Reviews
Some review quotes go here
Gallery
Reminiscences and Anecdotes
Members are encouraged to write about their experiences of working on or seeing this production. Please leave your name. Anonymous entries may be deleted.
See Also
Have there been other SLT productions of this play? Link to them here.
Or add anything that is related within this site. The author's page for instance or other plays with a similar theme.
