Michael Cox reviews a production that asks essential questions.
Slayers is an angry play. Considering the subject matter—and a simple glance at the news or social media—that anger is not just justified but completely understandable.
But more importantly, it is a deep play. It has layers, and it has a lot more in its impressive arsenal than it might first appear.
Liane is doing the best she can. It’s a hard world filled with judgement towards a single mother. A survivor of past abuse, Liane is trying to keep rage at bay. But it is growing worse: a friend has had intimate images published online without her consent, and her ten-year-old daughter is becoming bullied by a pack of boys. A world of indifference to the plight of women and ingrained misogyny means justice is out of reach.
A chance encounter with a man on the Meadows in Edinburgh makes her investigate online message boards. More questions are raised. Who can you turn to when the system shrugs its shoulders? Who can you trust when every male is a potential threat?
And what if women were to take the fight back to those men who harass and threaten them?
Writer and producer Corinne Salisbury’s script asks a lot of questions—all of them reasonable and intelligent. She offers few answers which, considering the gravity from the current grip of the Manosphere, is fair enough. What is there to say when the world tells women to toughen up, yet when they do they’re criticised for not being soft enough?
Salisbury’s protagonist is brilliantly played by Zoe Hunter. Hunter runs the gambit of emotions and is put through the wringer time and again in the hour-long run. She balances anger, fear and tenderness with aplomb and brings an excellent physicality to the whole production. It is a terrific performance that lingers long past the curtain call.
For its subject matter, Slayers is not a difficult watch. But it is an infuriating one. And it is engaging. It’s constantly theatrical, and the plot is tense and filled with sucker punches and twists. It might not quite stick the landing, but considering how many balls the play juggles, the fact it works as well as it does and comes to a satisfying enough conclusion is more than impressive.
It also clearly wants to start a much-needed conversation. As difficult as it might be, the play makes that case perfectly: this is a discussion that must be had, and we need to have it immediately. And if plays like Slayers spark the opening move, then we would be all the better for it.
Slayers performs at Assembly George Square Studios (Studio Five) at 12:15 (60mins) until 30 August 2026. For further details, go to RUPTURE’s website.
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