Anna Burnside reviews ‘a delight’ that suffers from some plot gaps.
Shona, elbow deep in grief, furious with her mother for dying and NASA for not putting women on the moon, doesn’t want to talk about her feelings in any way, shape or form.
Wee Shona was a pocket rocket, powered by a love of science and knowledge, contemptuous of her trainer-mad classmates. But by the time we meet her again, in the therapist’s office, life and bereavement have ground all her delightful enthusiasm and exuberance to dust.
Writer/director Catriona MacLeod does a great job of showing us Wee Shona’s wonderfully nerdy obsessions. Her mother, played by Rebecca Elise who is also adult Shona, is seen only in silhouette. She clearly adores her daughter, treasures her passions and even puts up with her desire to wear odd shoes to school. (It’s an anti-consumerism protest statement.)
What MacLeod doesn’t do is explain what happened in between. We see Wee Shona’s experience one crushing moment. Was that really enough to create the bitter non-astronaut at her therapist? Does she blame her mother? We at least need some hints about the rest.
This is a shame because, in every other way, Blast Off, Stardust is a delight. The writing is, on a line-by-line basis, sharp and sometimes moving.
Megan Lovat is precious as Wee Shona, a space age child out of place in the era of the Spice Girls. Sheila Grier does sterling work as comic relief Auntie Mags. Elise does her best to navigate the plot gaps.
Fill the black hole at the centre and this would be a triumph.
Blast Off, Stardust performs at Oran Mor’s A Play, A Pie and A Pint until November 9, 2024. It then performs at The Lemon Tree in Aberdeen (November 12-16).
Photo by Tommy Ga-Ken Wan.
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