Part of the Escalator East to Edinburgh programme, Shams’ Thin Ice is, on the one hand, an adventure story detailing a mission of Arctic exploration and scientific discovery, and, on the other, the story of a romantic love triangle. Set in May 1940, Thin Ice flows effortlessly between the past and the present, moving from the discovery of the frozen corpse of scientist Daniel to the days following his arrival in England as an Austrian immigrant.

Focusing on the intertwined relationships between Daniel and the production’s two other characters, Laura and Richard, the story takes us from the discovery of Daniel’s body in Greenland back to the beginnings of a relationship between him and Laura. The story drip feeds information by moving from present to past, allowing the audience to slowly gain an overall picture of what is happening. It’s a simple and effective way of keeping the story interesting – facts are uncovered piece by piece, shifting our understanding of previous events. What is particularly deft in this production is its movement between these two periods: the transitions are exact and often beautifully executed, allowing the production to flow and the pace to remain unbroken.

The theme of exploration is an undercurrent to a lot of Shams’ work, with last year’s Total Theatre Award nominee Reykjavik and 2002’s Sleeping Beautiesbeing good examples of this. It’s a theme that Thin Ice captures in a simple but effective set design that gives the feeling of an isolated cabin stranded in the frozen tundra of the Greenland wastes. This feeling of isolation is a constant companion throughout the production and gives the play its distinctive style. Through stark lighting design and clever performances Thin Ice makes you feel the cold of the Arctic world, matching it with the fraught and icy relationships of its three protagonists.