THEATRE | Previews & Reviews
P H O T O
: D R E W F A R R E L L
HISTORICAL THEATRE GLORY ON EARTH Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh, until Sat 10 Jun ●●●●● NEW WORK VILLAGE PUB THEATRE Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, Wed 7 & Thu 8, Thu 15 & Fri 16 Jun
Glory on Earth sits between historical epic and a tragic reflection on a period of Scottish conflict that still echoes in contemporary politics. When Mary, the Catholic teenage Queen of Scots, returns to her throne, misogynistic Protestant John Knox is ready to challenge her rule, drawing on scripture and support from within Mary’s court itself. In Linda McLean’s script, Knox is given a sympathetic defence of his position, despite its unfashionable insistence on religious authority and undercurrent of puritanical anxiety. This generosity extends equally to Mary: her youthful enthusiasm may leave her at a disadvantage against the seasoned theologian, but her joyfulness and moral courage presents her defeat as a tragic downfall.
Based in Leith, the Village Pub Theatre is a community of artists determined to prove that drama doesn't always have to be in a formal venue. Promoting new writing and a DIY ethos in production, a visit to the Traverse brings their fresh attitude onto one of Edinburgh’s established stages. ‘Village Pub Theatre has always been a small space for writers to connect
with an audience and to take risks through short, sharp and direct plays,’ explains director Caitlin Skinner. ‘This project is the start of us exploring what it might be like to do that on a slightly larger scale. That has to be led by the playwrights who make up the collective, with the focus on supporting the writers in making bold work that can really communicate with an audience.’
The four selections include scripts by Sylvia Dow, Giles Conisbee, Rosanna
McLean lends her characters a poetic language: while Mary and her court descend into adolescent banter, her dignity as a queen is established in final acceptance of death. Hall and Grace Cleary, covering topics from fake news, through personal safety and an updating of The Odyssey, to ‘banana and bongos’. Yet each evening will be about more than just the plays.
Glory addresses a crucial moment in the development of Scottish cultural and political identity. But without connecting it clearly to the present, it risks becoming an epic narrative that reiterates a sentimental version of history. Nevertheless, moments of scenographic brilliance and McLean’s intelligent script ensure that the production offers insight into the past. (Gareth K Vile)
‘We try to create events that have an informality and social nature to them, after and in-between the plays,’ concludes Skinner. ‘Although the content of the plays contributes to the discussion of ideas, VPT has an environment where it is that little bit easier for audiences to talk to each other too.’ (Gareth K Vile)
VISUAL DRAMA SHACKLETON Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, Wed 7–Fri 9 Jun; Tron Theatre, Glasgow, Wed 14–Sat 17 Jun
Having been regular visitors to Scottish theatres, Sligo’s Blue Raincoat has a reputation for work that combines sharp scripting and an exquisite visual sensibility. Like previous productions, including Ionesco’s absurdist classic The Chair, profound themes of human ambition and failure are addressed in Shackleton.
‘I always liked the story and have been working away with Jocelyn Clarke who adapted the Yuri Gagarin story for us,’ says director Niall Henry. ‘It tended to end up as a male derring-do adventure, so we had a workshop and told the story as an existential journey from the feeling you get looking at the old photographs of him.’ Henry’s approach has always gone beyond literary
adaptation in recognising the importance of a show’s visual and choreographic presentation. Shackleton offers the opportunity for spectacular imagery, but Henry never forgets the power of raw storytelling and a precise script. ‘It’s fantastic in the true sense of the word: these events that reflect ourselves,’ he says.
Following on from their presentations of a man, Gagarin, who was both inspired and alienated by his trip to space, Shackleton engages with another journey into the unknown and majestic – the Antarctic’s icy Weddell Sea – but imbues it with recognisable human goals and fears. Henry’s enthusiasm for Beckett and Ionesco is matched by his training in Paris in more physical forms of theatre: his direction of The Chairs emphasised both the emptiness of ambition and social dimension of the absurdist’s script. In Shackleton’s expedition, he has found another epic adventure to explore intimate truths. (Gareth K Vile)
100 THE LIST 1 Jun–31 Aug 2017