Myth, Memory, and the Wild North: ‘Elmet’ at the Loading Bay – Review

Sean Jackson, Jenifer Jackson, LJ Parkinson and The Unthanks (above) in Elmet. Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture. Photo credit: Lee Baxter.

In the shadowy wilderness of West Yorkshire, blood, land, and myth collide in Elmet, Javaad Alipoor’s bold stage adaptation of Fiona Mozley’s acclaimed debut novel. Commissioned by Bradford 2025 and performed at The Loading Bay from 22 October to 2 November, this production transforms Mozley’s dark and poetic story into a visceral story of blood, family, and freedom set in the wilds of West Yorkshire.

Javaad Alipoor’s theatre company has built a reputation for making urgent, experimental work that speaks to a global audience. Rooted in multi-platform practice and driven by questions of identity, politics, and power, their productions challenge how stories are told. This time, they turn their attention to ‘Elmet’, a gutsy tale of belonging, revenge, and the price of survival. 

Poetic yet brutal, it unearths the myths woven into the land and the violence against women hidden in their shadows. At its heart are three unforgettable figures: Danny, our wide-eyed narrator; his fierce sister Cathy; and Daddy — an elemental, almost mythical man who has built a fragile sanctuary for his children deep in the woods.

Gabriella Schmidt (as Vivian), LJ Parkinson (as Danny) and Jenifer Jackson (Cathy) in Elmet. Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture. Photo credit: Lee Baxter.

One of the most striking choices in Alipoor’s adaptation is the representation of Daddy. He is never fully embodied by a single actor. Instead, the play fragments him, revealing him only through the voices, gestures, and memories of others. At times, another character mimics his booming voice; in other moments, a single limb stands in for his presence. This approach turns Daddy into a living myth, shaped by memory and reverence rather than reality.

Through Danny’s eyes, we see a child’s idealised version of his father: a protector, a giant, a man who can bend the world to his will. But Alipoor slowly peels back that illusion. As local tensions erupt between landowner Mr Price and a community suffocated by poverty and exploitation, the children’s idyll collapses. Daddy’s legend, and the children’s faith in him, begins to unravel.

The play’s emotional centre belongs to Cathy, embodied by the superb Jenifer Jackson. On the surface, she’s fierce and defiant, unafraid of the violence that surrounds her. Yet beneath that strength lies fear. Fear of how girls are spoken about, commodified, and discarded. In Alipoor’s hands, Cathy becomes both symbol and survivor: a mythic figure who reclaims her body and her power in a world that would rather destroy her. Her story ends open and unresolved, tinged with tragedy, yet the play refuses to leave her with a legacy of victimhood.

Sean Jackson, Gabriella Schmidt, LJ Parkinson, Jenifer Jackson and Tom Varey in Elmet. Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture. Photo credit: Lee Baxter.

The production is underscored by The Unthanks, whose captivating, folk-inflected music deepens the atmosphere. Their sound—born of the hills and haunted by northern voices—bridges the ordinary and the otherworldly. It grounds the story in real emotion and place while evoking something timeless, folkloric, and dreamlike. Drawing on influences from Miles Davis to Robert Wyatt, their score becomes a character in itself, amplifying the production’s emotional terrain.

The set is sparse but evocative. A mostly barren stage scattered with a few key props — a table, a chair, a flicker of home amid wilderness. Ladders rise to an upper level, creating a sense of height and power that looms over Danny and Cathy’s fragile world. This verticality reinforces the class and control at play; those above and those forced to live below.

LJ Parkinson (as Danny), Tom Varey, Gabriella Schmidt and Sean Jackson (Cathy) in Elmet. Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture. Photo credit: Lee Baxter.

Performed by a small, agile cast who deftly shift between roles, ‘Elmet’ captures the spirit of Mozley’s novel. At the same time, it creates something distinctly theatrical. The constant switching of characters through costume and gesture reinforces the play’s mythic quality: people are never just one thing, and stories never belong to a single voice.

Elmet is not a comfortable watch. It’s a dark, poetic confrontation with power, inheritance, and the myths we build to survive. In Alipoor’s hands, the story of this West Yorkshire family reminds us that freedom always comes at a cost.

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You can catch ‘Elmet’ at The Loading Bay until 2nd November. To keep up with future work from The Javaad Alipoor Company, visit their website for future projects and performances.