Tosg: A’ Chuirt And Atman

6 Sep 2006 in Dance & Drama, Outer Hebrides

An Lanntair, Stornoway, 2 September 2006, and touring

Iain Finlay MacLeod

‘A’ CHÙIRT ’ (The Court) is set in 1816 at the trial of Patrick Seller, the land factor responsible for some of the brutal clearances in Sutherland, and contrasts with the contemporary setting of ‘Ãtman’, in which two women foray into the ‘visualisation’ lifestyle, a prevalent therapy in the numerous self improvement books promoted in our Amazon.com-centred society.

‘A’ Chùirt’ featured Dolina Maclennan’s excellent performance as the elderly widow ejected from her home by physical threats and arson. Her loyalty lay with what remained of her humble abode, the future inheritance of her family who are ‘away’ overseas.

She equated with her allegiance and dependence on the immediate community. Simon Mackenzie plays the character of the one armed church elder with a family of five, under threat of starvation and being cast out as homeless, because of the elderly woman’s stance of rebelliousness.

The initial defiance and subsequent subjugation of Patrick Seller is portrayed by Artair Donald, while Coinneach Lindsay is the Court Official. Simon Mackenzie appears as the Trial Judge, combining a dual acting role and directing the dual production.

Iain Finlay Macleod’s ‘Ãtman’ was a revelation … We need more modern writing like this in Gaelic

‘A’ Chùirt ’ was tedious, perhaps due to having seen it performed by two community drama groups in the last three years. Any newly come-overs would be forgiven if they thought this was the only play that Iain Crichton Smith wrote.

With land buy outs supported by the Community Land Fund, historic land issues have too long been under the microscope, in many parts of the Highlands and Islands. Well let us see what the communities are now going to do with the hard-earned land. Iain Crichton Smith wrote plays about emotions, character traits and community issues very much at home in a modern setting, and there were numerous fine scripts to choose from.

Artair Donald as Seller lacked his usual strength of presence and mastery of delivery, possibly hampered by inadequate rehearsal access to the first night venue. Given the inevitably tight Highland touring schedule this is a very common consideration when reviewing any performance, but in rural areas where drama performances are rare, audiences are disappointed if stage peculiarities are not pinpointed and circumnavigated

Lewis-born Iain Finlay Macleod’s ‘Ãtman’ (a Sanskrit word meaning roughly ‘universal soul’) was a revelation, a male writer analysing in-depth feminine issues, and daringly crossing the line on faith and sexuality. We need more modern writing like this in Gaelic.

Carina Macleod was fabulous as the character that morphed from the nervy down at heel librarian to the babe featured in the centre spread of ‘Hello’. Donna Morrison’s excellent performance as the in-control psychiatrist is the rock, while her client achieves all her ambitions of greed, lust and avarice.

This performance by Tosg marks a great leap in audience development. The availability of an English synopsis make the Gaelic plays accessible to non-speakers of the language. Prior indication of the availability of the synopsis to box office staff will encourage and include an audience asking about Gaelic content.

The English synopsis may have to be sought out by the audience as it was not being actively promoted on the night. There was no programme on the night either! The pre-show publicity leaflet gave good information on venues and actors, but the reference to Bosnia was lost on me.

Unfortunately the ten page synopsis – yes, ten – is impossible to read before the lights go down. This needs to be addressed urgently by Tosg. Less is definitely more.

If it is new to you, ‘A’ Chùirt’ is about twenty minutes long, and the thought-provoking Ãtman slightly longer at half an hour.

(TOSG are on tour in the Highlands and Islands in September)