This is the fascinating Theatre Fest West 2017 prize-winning play written by Shiona Morton.

Set in a remote cottage in a Cornish forest, elderly hoarder Edith is visited by her prickly daughter Viv from London for her four-monthly weekend clearout.

Among the mutual arguing, Edith’s mess and Viv’s determination to fix it, the tension crackles as Viv discovers her mother’s friendship with a strange teenage boy, living rough outside in the woods.

Although based on a Brothers Grimm 1812 German fairytale, this new play is nevertheless a study of contemporary family relationships with some biting comment on current homelessness, struggle and family guilt.

Three superb actors carry the storyline and drive the drama, Elizabeth Counsell outstanding as the confused heartbroken Cornish mother, Zara Ramm utterly convincing as the well-meaning yet equally bewildered daughter, and Lee Rufford as the perceptive edgy teenage boy.

The atmospheric sound effects, haunting music, and wonderfully creative stage set, connect the traditional fairytale with its trail of white pebbles and witch references to “soft beds, delicious food, and a hot bath” to a modern morality tale of grim homelessness.

Dialogue is crisp, tight, and utterly convincing. The stage set “trees” sway eerily in the breeze, and Jo Newman’s astute direction equals her previous Salisbury Playhouse triumphs with This Land, Little Shop Of Horrors, and the First World War We’re Here Because We’re Here.

This brilliantly thought-provoking play runs until Saturday, matinees Thursday and Saturday.

Brendan McCusker