High Plains (A Western Myth)

The Fringe is always brimming with ghost stories, but the creeping menace of Brian Watkins’ monologue offers spirits of a slightly different character. While mysterious, seemingly supernatural figures might prowl the wide American plains of the title, Watkins’ ghosts are also the ghosts of the mind, the episodes from the past that are yet to be laid to rest.

His unassuming narrator, played by Ben Newman, is a restless drifter and sometime construction worker with a fear of getting trapped in one place. Alone in a small town, he slugs from a beer bottle while sharing tales of his childhood, his work and his fraught relationship with his older brother. Childish spats give way to lasting regrets. Slowly, through a succession of meandering anecdotes, his current, troubled predicament is unveiled.

Newman’s performance is characterised by stillness, relying on the very subtlest of shifts to move the narrative forwards. This hyper-naturalistic delicacy is impressive, but too small and subdued to remain consistently engaging for the duration of Watkins’ 50 minute monologue. The same might be said of the piece itself, which offers glimpses into the nature of Watkins’ characters and the experience of modern American life, but never quite delves deep enough.

While Watkins’ writing nails conversational speech and conjures an intermittently haunting picture of America’s lonelier expanses, its blend of domestic drama, supernatural chiller and myth interrogation fails to cohere into a persuasive whole. Despite an intriguing opening, it leaves its audience—like its protagonist—still searching.