Phipps Hall, Beauly, Saturday 14 June 2003

THE MYSTERY of Flannan Isle is the Marie Celeste of the lighthouse world.  On 15 December 1900, all three keepers of the lighthouse on these remote islands west of Lewis (which are also known as the Seven Hunters) disappeared without trace. Generations of schoolchildren have thrilled to the frisson of the supernatural in WW Gibson’s poem Flannan Isle, with its final image of ‘three men alive on Flannan Isle who thought on three men dead’, but the reality is likely to have been more prosaic: a giant wave, or an excessive wind, carrying all three men away at once. But any such explanation has to cope with the rigid rule of lighthouse-keeping: that one man should remain in the tower at all times.

As a former coastguard officer on Lewis, poet and storyteller Ian Stephen has the right practical qualifications to tackle this famous mystery.  His challenge, in what is his first work for the stage, is to imagine a psychological context in which all three keepers could have faced death together. This he does very convincingly, but he also cleverly intercuts this tense claustrophobic drama with the wider context: the crew of the Archtor, which first reported the unlit light on Flannan Isle, struggling through appalling weather conditions; and the people of the onshore community of Loch Roag on Lewis, waiting for news of loved ones.

Gerry Mulgrew’s skilled and highly inventive production opens this context out even further, surrounding the ‘in the round’ audience with massive video images of tempestuous seas, and evoking the power and terror of the waves in music, song and dance.  The total effect is of an enthralling multi-media production: one of the most ambitious touring projects yet to be undertaken by a Highland theatre company.

Seven Hunters is a collaboration between the Highland Festival’s own theatre company, theatrecollective @ highland, and the Gaelic theatre company, Tosg. The intermingling of Gaelic and English is highly effective, whether in the dialogue of the crew of the Archtor, or in the potent litany of the power of wind, in which Ian Stephen gives his own evocative definitions of every stage from Force one to twelve.

Tosg’s own Director, Simon Mackenzie, is very telling in the tense central role of MacArthur, but it’s perhaps unfair to single him out from what is a uniformly impressive company. In fact, it’s the effective contribution of every element of the production that ensures that Seven Hunters has such an impact: the ingenious set, the meticulous costuming, and the evocative soundscape that underpins every aspect of the play.

The Highland Festival’s previous trio of comedies has understandably won it a large and supportive following, and so it’s not surprising that this first performance was a sell-out.  Seven Hunters is a  very different kind of experience, enthralling and moving, but it’s likely to prove just as popular with audiences.

Further performances of Seven Hunters can be seen at:
New Lochs Communty School, Isle of Lewis, Tuesday 17 June 2003
Kyleakin Community Centre, Isle of Skye, Thursday 19 June
Mallaig High School, Mallaig, Saturday 21 June
Corran Halls, Oban, Wednesday 25 June
Bowmore High School, Islay, Saturday 28 June
Academy Theatre, Fortrose, Thursday 1 July
High School, Buckie, Thursday 3 July
Community Centre, Brora, Wednesday 9 July
Community Centre, Nairn, Friday 11-Saturday 12 July

Robert Livingston is Director of HI~Arts.

© Robert Livingston, 2003