RE:UNION. To 5 May.

Scotland

RE:UNION
Wound by Nicola McCartney Eclipse by Haresh Sharma A Time To Go by Selima Dimitrijevic Doch-An-Doris (A Parting Drink) by Linda McLean.

7:84 Theatre Company Tour to 5 May 2007.
Runs hr 35min No interval.
Review: Thelma Good 13 April at Traverse Theatre Edinburgh

Short plays don’t all meet the big-theme challenge.
7:84 asked four playwrights to explore themes of separation and reconciliation. In the 300th anniversary year of Scotland’s parliamentary union with England, they follow many themes tied to the anniversary without directly addressing its legacy or the future.

Instead most look at the theme through family relationships, inspired by particular situations, Wound by 1921 Ireland, Eclipse by 1947 India and Pakistan, A Time To Go 1991 Croatia - though the plays are not set then. Some will recognise the historical video images. Others will try to figure out how they relate to the struggling family scenes acted out on the noisy crushed-glass stage-floor by actors in 7:84 t-shirts, black trousers and chunky soled lace-ups.

Wound’s events are metamorphosed into the adopted daughter who feels lost in a family whose past is not hers. Nicola McCartney successfully builds tension and complexity in this extended metaphor; two other plays trying this are less successful with this extended form.

Eclipse provides Umar Ahmad with a monologue, engagingly performed and portraying three Hindu generations. As in Wound the difficulty of knowing who one is and where one comes from is addressed.

In A Time To Go son and father prepare for a wedding, or possibly weddings as both address unseen people. Finally they acknowledge the mother is dead. It’s a strained analogy for altered relationships between ethnic groups when countries break up. Only Eclipse ensures we know enough of the events inspiring the play.

Another family ends the evening in Doch-An-Doris (A Parting Drink), inspired by a possible future for Scotland. Round a table with a glass and a bottle of wine each a son and daughter try to get their parents to talk to one another. It observes well, and often humorously, how people who are hurt behave to one another. But parallels with how countries relate to one another are arguable, possible analogies becoming distracting and diffuse.

In the Union’s 301st year, when Scotland appears to be wondering if it wants to remain wed, I wish we could see a more provoking marking of the state of nations than these softly-softly plays.

Wound:
Paramedic: Umar Ahmad
Older Woman: Jacqui Chan
Daughter: Ionia Ni Chronin
Father: Billy Riddoch

Eclipse:
Grandfather/Son/Grandson: Umar Ahmad

A Time To Go:
Son: Umar Ahmad
Father: Billy Riddoch

Doch-An-Doris:
Son: Umar Ahmad
Mother: Jacqui Chan
Daughter: Ionia Ni Chronin
Father: Billy Riddoch

Directors: Lorenzo Mele, Jo Ronan
Designer: Kai Fischer
Video: Seth Hardwick

2007-04-18 00:32:31