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Tour name: Edinburgh Literary Pub Tour.
Company - Scottish Literary
Tour Trust.
E-Mail - info@scot-lit-tour.co.uk
Further information Tel/fax - +44 (0)131 226 6665
97b West Bow, Edinburgh, EH1 2JP
Times - June, July, August, September: Daily at 7.30pm.
April, May, October: Thurs-Sun at 7.30.
January, February, March, November & December: Fridays at 7.30pm.
Starts at - Beehive Inn, Grassmarket, Edinburgh.
Cost - Adults £7 concessions £5. Tickets can
be bought on the door of The Beehive or online at a discounted rate.
Duration - 2 hours approximately.
Tour reviewer - David Stanners.
Ideal alternative to dull laboured facts.
Forget Rosencrantz and Guildenstern as a double act. Clart and
McBrain are in Auld Reekie, and they'll tantalise your literary taste
buds and whet your appetites for a tipple or two with their verbal jockeying
and witty banter.
The Scottish Literary Tour Company has made a cracking job of slinging
together this very lively theatrical extravaganza. Starting in the Grassmarket's
Beehive, we're introduced very cunningly to our evening's fictional literary
duo. The suitably named Clart, Martin McNaughton, represents Scotland's
most famous literati from the gutter upwards. Much to his counterpart's
dismay, Mr Clart has no bones about disclosing Burns's love of birds and
booze above all else. Mr McBrain, Dewi Wynne Jones, on the other
hand, has a thing or two to say about that. Vying to uphold the dignity
and educational merit of our nation's finest writers, he begs to differ.
Let the duel of wits commence.
It's not long before Clart gets his own way. Passing the old gallows,
we saunter uphill past Victoria Street, through a few nooks and crannies,
and into our second watering hole. What would a pub tour be without
a bevy or two? After all, as Clart himself claims, booze is a timeless
classic, and played a vital part in inspiring the genius of the nation's
best writers.
With a few light heads in the crowd, the next act plays host to Edinburgh's
historical courtyards. Here we learn of Deacon Brodie's flagrant lifestyle,
Robert Louis Stevenson's inspirations for Jekyll and Hyde, and Walter
Scott's gammy leg. Meanwhile Clart with his own slant on social history,
humorously echoes the treasured pastimes of Burns, Stevenson and Scott:
"At night we like to get drunk!"
From old to new, we move down The Mound towards Rose Street with a brief
history of the New Town and Scotland's proud contemporary contribution
to world literature; MacDiarmid, Muriel Spark are certainties but how
does Irvine Welsh fare? Well that's one for Clart and MrBrain to chew
on.
Nearly every historical fact is matched with an illuminating anecdote,
joke, or song, so there are no dry and withered facts to numb the mind.
It's all about entertainment, and this pair are seasoned raconteurs; dab
hands at bouncing banter off each other's backs.
Of all the tours on offer these days, this is the ideal alternative to
dull laboured facts. Flipping both sides of the literary coin, Martin
McNaughton and Dewi Wynne Jones blend the perfect melange of humour and
originality. Here's to a night out with a difference!
© David Stanners 23 May 2003 - Published on EdinburghGuide.com
Scottish Literary Tour Trust.
E-Mail - info@scot-lit-tour.co.uk
Further information Tel/fax - +44 (0)131 226 6665
97b West Bow, Edinburgh, EH1 2JP
Theatre Editor, Thelma
Good's e-mail is thelma@edinburghguide.com
Although every effort has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the
information presented in these pages, no responsibility can be accepted
for any errors or omissions.
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