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Theatre listings > Borderland. - Tour & World Premiere. Playwright - Andrew Doyle. Director - Lorenzo Mele. Designer - Becky Minto. Lighting Designer - Dave Shea. Sound Designer - Simon Johnston and Ian Dow. Fight Director - Raymond Short. Video Artist - Fifty-Nine Ltd. Company - 7:84 Theatre Company (Scotland) Company Website. Cast - here . 2005 Tour Dates and Times - here . Seen to review at Paisley Arts Centre Scotland on 24 September 2005. Run Time - 2hours 35 mins including an interval. Reviewer - Thelma Good. Buy the text if you can't go. Opening in Scotland just as IRA decommissioning of weapons is taking place in Northern Ireland Borderlands is a fascinating at times very funny exploration of the states of mind of two brothers in Spring 2005. The play maybe set in Londonderry and Donegal but it could be understood anywhere, and should have play translators eagerly lining up. In Londonderry's Bogside Sean the older brother has got his younger brother Ciaran carrying out some IRA delivery business. Sean can't do it any more as the IRA Army Council has forbidden its members to do anything during the ceasefire so no kneecappings, robberies or smugglings. Their father and grandfather before them have served in and died for the cause of a united Ireland, but things might have to change now. Ciaran's a bit odd, overly knowledgeable about saints and demons. He's meticulous where Sean leaves things lying, but it's Sean who's been supporting the pair of them up till now. They bat words and wind-ups between each other as only siblings can. They're very entertaining to listen to. Their take on almost up to the minute Northern Irish politics brings out the confusion of people who try to find their place in a new arrangement in any area of the world where controlling forces change. The script is full of strange eddies and odd occurrences on the borderland between three states, heightened reality, surreal encounters and mythic theatre, it's writing that stimulates, enthrals and thrills. For playwright and stand-up comedian Andrew Doyle this is the first time he has been commissioned to write a play. Director Lorenzo Mele and the company have rightly rewarded his demanding script with insight and conviction. As Ciaran and Sean Michael Condron and Richard Orr convince and keep us guessing about how things will go. While Gareth Morrison brings a dangerous presence to his soundless contribution, and the small box contains its own surprises the two adult waifs in changing times, Ciaran and Sean, find that this delivery is the most troublesome of all. Becky Minto's design keeps our imagination free so that while the poles with their first act netting echoes the Bogside it also suggests any entrapped community. She keeps our imagination open too when it changes ingeniously into the Donegal cottage and surrounds for second act. Projected on the walls of the abodes in both acts are snippets of video, sometimes scene setting and sometimes adding to the story, though just occasionally hard to follow. It's a play and production that challenges and entertains, keeping the audience on the edge of their seats even beyond the final moment - political theatre with an exciting metaphorical edge. Doyle's Borderland attempts and achieves far more than most plays do, see it if you can, buy the text if you can't. © Thelma Good 24 September 2005 - Published on EdinburghGuide.com The script is published by Oberon Books and is available from them, from good booksellers and at 7:84 Theatre Company (Scotland)'s performances of Borderland. Cast - Ciaran - Michael Condron and Sean - Richard Orr, with Gareth Morrison. 2005 Tour Details of 7:84 Theatre Company (Scotland)'s production of Borderland . Tour Begins 22 - 24 Sep at 7:30pm Paisley Arts Centre 0141 887 1010. 27 Sep at 7:30pm Ballachuilish Village Hall 01855 811979. 29 Sep at 7:30pm Aberdeen The Lemon Tree 01224 642230. 1 Oct at 8pm Inverness Royal Academy 01463 234234. 4 - 8 Oct at 7:30pm Glasgow Tron Theatre 0141 552 4267. 12 Oct at 7:30pm Musselburgh Brunton Theatre 0131 665 2240. 14 - 15 Oct at 7:45pm Cumbernauld Theatre 01236 732887. 18 Oct at 8pm Birnam Institute 01350 727674. 19 Oct at 7:30pm Dunfermline Carnegie Hall 01383 314000. 20 Oct at 8pm Stirling Macrobert 01786 466666. 22 Oct at 7:30pm Kilmarnock Palace Theatre 01563 554900. 1 & 2 Nov at 7:30pm Livingston Howden Park Centre 01506 433634. 3 - 5 Nov at at 7:45pm Dundee Rep 01382 223530. Tour ends. 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. Theatre listings >
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