Post by duncan on Sept 17, 2016 18:00:49 GMT
The story of the highlands of Scotland from the sheep clearances of the late 18th century to the coming of the oil.
The mythical Scottish play that changed the face of Scottish theatre in the 1970s is back in this Dundee Rep production, currently at the Lyceum until next weekend before touring the country for the next 6 weeks or so.
Well it may have been radical and amazing in 1973 but time has passed and now it looks and sounds like a lot of other shows that are out there at the moment or which have been produced recently - audience interaction, having the cast on stage as the audience come in, having the cast play instruments on stage and placing the costumes on stage so you can see people changing are all on show here but its all just so blase now - when you've seen the cast of Once having a shindig before the show starts, the cast of Chariots of Fire warming up in front of you or the cast of Lord of the Rings hopping about as hobbits or some sh*t then you're not going to be impressed by this.
I'm sure if you had been brought up on a diet of Rattigan and BBC Plays for Today productions then this would have been the most amazing thing ever and may have opened your eyes to what theatre can do but almost half a century later its just not as thrilling, interesting or exciting as it thinks. I am Thomas at the same venue earlier in the year was a lot more dynamic and interesting.
Its entertaining enough but maybe given its near Holy Grail status in Scottish circles I was expecting/anticipating a lot more than could/would be delivered. The cast of Dundee rep regulars seem to be having a whale of a time though and thats part of the problem - for long sections it feels like an exceptionally smug student production from the Festival and then they do a scene that brings you back into whats on stage but for every Sturdy Highlander comedy scene you have a scene of utter ineptness such as the American writer on a tour of the Highlands.
It could also do with an edit of at least 10 minutes as to bring it up to date they include a section on Trump that adds nothing to the piece. Its a clearly pro-SNP piece thats hung up on events from centuries ago and yet fails to take the current government to task on information that the play actually highlights about Scotlands natural resources but I'm guessing that would have gone against the spirit of the piece.
6/10
...and Jim Sillars was sat 3 rows behind me.
The mythical Scottish play that changed the face of Scottish theatre in the 1970s is back in this Dundee Rep production, currently at the Lyceum until next weekend before touring the country for the next 6 weeks or so.
Well it may have been radical and amazing in 1973 but time has passed and now it looks and sounds like a lot of other shows that are out there at the moment or which have been produced recently - audience interaction, having the cast on stage as the audience come in, having the cast play instruments on stage and placing the costumes on stage so you can see people changing are all on show here but its all just so blase now - when you've seen the cast of Once having a shindig before the show starts, the cast of Chariots of Fire warming up in front of you or the cast of Lord of the Rings hopping about as hobbits or some sh*t then you're not going to be impressed by this.
I'm sure if you had been brought up on a diet of Rattigan and BBC Plays for Today productions then this would have been the most amazing thing ever and may have opened your eyes to what theatre can do but almost half a century later its just not as thrilling, interesting or exciting as it thinks. I am Thomas at the same venue earlier in the year was a lot more dynamic and interesting.
Its entertaining enough but maybe given its near Holy Grail status in Scottish circles I was expecting/anticipating a lot more than could/would be delivered. The cast of Dundee rep regulars seem to be having a whale of a time though and thats part of the problem - for long sections it feels like an exceptionally smug student production from the Festival and then they do a scene that brings you back into whats on stage but for every Sturdy Highlander comedy scene you have a scene of utter ineptness such as the American writer on a tour of the Highlands.
It could also do with an edit of at least 10 minutes as to bring it up to date they include a section on Trump that adds nothing to the piece. Its a clearly pro-SNP piece thats hung up on events from centuries ago and yet fails to take the current government to task on information that the play actually highlights about Scotlands natural resources but I'm guessing that would have gone against the spirit of the piece.
6/10
...and Jim Sillars was sat 3 rows behind me.
