The shadow of the folk-horror genre hangs over UK playwright Rob Drummond’s Grain in the Blood, a five-handed drama set in the remote Highlands home of a retired vet Sophia, her daughter Violet and ailing granddaughter Autumn.

Kim Clifton in Grain in the Blood. Photo © Clare Hawley

We’re in the present but in these parts, echoes of ancient beliefs can still be heard. In the old times, at Harvest Moon, blood sacrifices were made to the pagan Grain Mother to ensure a good crop. These days, the superstitious make do with strawberry jam.

This particular Harvest Moon brings with it something unusual: Isaac, a prisoner released from gaol on weekend furlough. With him is a chaperone, Burt. At this point, we don’t know what Isaac is serving a sentence for, but we take it as gospel (from Burt, who is a lot less keen on this temporary accomodation arrangement than Sophia) that he’s potentially dangerous. There is, after all, a seriously ill 12-year-old girl to worry about.