Royal Lyceum, Edinburgh
Martin Green’s play, set in a village still traumatised by the miners’ strike, follows a young musician under pressure from all sides

Towards the end of Martin Green ’s brass-infused play for the National Theatre of Scotland, there is a resonant metaphor. It makes the connection between directing the breath to play a wind instrument and dealing with life’s stresses.

“The skill is in controlling that pressure,” says Keli, a 17-year-old tenor horn player who knows all about pressure. On her plate is a thankless job in a supermarket, a mentally ill mother and a solo spot in a national brass band competition.