Sing, River ★★★★

In a Fringe pleasingly awash with queer narratives, a tale of a self-professed “Pagan Twink” certainly ticks the box marked originality. Sing, River is an enticing, character-driven drama that features a young gay man, who takes refuge on the bed of the Thames every Midsummer.

Written and performed by Nathaniel Jones, the unnamed protagonist explores and uncovers the history and secrets of the abandoned treasure that he discovers scattered on the watery floor. Are these objects – such as a crown, wine bottle and ring – offerings to the river gods, or do they simply contain the stories of the people who have lost these objects to the tide?

Interwoven with these stories are original folk songs written by Faye James, which successfully evoke an underwater world of mysticism and mythology deep beneath the surface of the Thames. Jones’ vocals add a warmth and earthy charm to the proceedings, which are perfectly calibrated to the ethereal nature of the show.

Within the swirling undercurrents of the anecdotes and the songs, the real narrative of the young man’s life seeps through and the truth of his own traumatic story begins to emerge. The watery depths becomes a metaphor for the darkness that surrounds him and it becomes evident that his imagined world has been created as a coping mechanism to drown out his own harrowing memories.

Jones brings affability, emotion and naturalism to the role and skilfully manages to ground the character in a realism which could easily be lost in amongst the depths of fantasy. The well-written script gradually invites you into his refuge, enticingly rendered through Jones’ child-like wonder and love of all things Pagan.

Sing, River is an engaging and imaginative tale whose idiosyncratic approach elevates the play from being just another overfamiliar queer story, to that of a memorable thought-provoking journey.