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Farmland
Playwright - Bess Ross
Director - Mariela Stevenson
Designer - Peter Gray
Music - Allan Tall
Company - Grey Coast Theatre Company website
Venues + dates - see end of review for details
Reviewer - Thelma Good Production seen at The Arches Glasgow
Too many sterile lines
Cliches are unfertile seeds, they lack real meaning. In this, Bess Ross's
first professional play, she sprinkles them liberally resulting in too
many sterile lines. She also has the actors state what is already clear
in the action of the play. Consequently it's hard for them to breathe
sustained life into this play despite some good performances. The set
suggestive of a kitchen, half doorways and a workshop with a windbent
tree is too cluttered especially on a narrow stage. The uneven kitchen
floor rising up in its centre is awkward for acting - its metaphorical
image of the land rising to push them off just distracting. The decision
to punctuate significant moments by discordant violin chords futher ill
serves the production.
A decade ago things were getting bleak for farmworkers, the crushing hands
of agri-business, CAP and set aside, in 2002 they're crushed even more.
In the play agricultural worker David marries Jean in 1968, and moves
to work as a tractorman near Nigg in Caithness. By 1989 they've got two
offspring. Marcus, a young man who knows his future lies elsewhere, has
plans for Canada where his Dad once though of going, and Julie just about
to do her Highers, itches for city life and Art School. They both can
see there's no future on the land. Family friend and farm hand, Chae is
deep rooted to the earth his forefathers also worked on. As Jean says
of them all, as farm workers in tied houses they're modern day serfs.
It's good to experience Allan Tall's beautiful singing and his
portrayal of Chae too, Dan Oliveira's Marcus is also highly watchable
and to hear the northern stolid spirit voiced by Jim Byars as David.
But the play has too many ill fashioned rough edges to be the one reflecting
the real, farming anguish of today. It needed more development before
it came to the stage.
© Thelma Good 20 March 2002
Tour Details
Begins
6 March 2002 at 8pm Invergordon Arts Centre (Preview) 01847
890840
7 & 8 March at 1 & 8pm Invergordon Arts Centre 01349 868479
9 March at 8pm Wick Assembly Rooms 01847 890840
11 March at 7.30pm Stromness Academy 01856 850555
12 March at 7.30pm Orkney Arts Centre, Kirkwall 01856
874854
13 & 14 March at 8pm Mill Theatre, Thurso 01847 892019
15 March at 7.30pm Kinlochbervie Village Hall 01349 868479
16 March at 8pm Ullapool MacPhail Centre 01854 613336
19 & 20 March at 7.30pm Glasgow Arches Theatre 0901 022
0301
21 March at 7.30pm Glenuig Community Hall 01847 890840
22 March at 8pm Portree Aros Centre 01487 613750
23 March at 8pm Plockton Village Hall tickets at door
26 March at 8pm Universal Hall, Findhorn 01343 850699
/ 013098 690110
27 March at 8pm Rosehall Village Hall tickets at door
28 March at 8pm Helmsdale Community Centre tickets at door
29 March at 8pm Lochcarron Village Hall 01847 890840
30 March at 7.30pm Nevis Centre, Fort William 01397 700707
/ 702102
1 April at 8pm at Eden Court Theatre, Inverness 01463
234234
2 April at 8pm Carrbridge Village Hall 01479 841211
3 April at 8pm Birnam Institute 01350 727674
4 - 6 April at 8pm Edinburgh Traverse Theatre 0131 228
1404
Tour Ends
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