**** (4 stars)
“Atmospheric”
Kirsty Law’s atmospheric show doesn’t grab us by the throat and threaten us: instead, it gently invites us on a journey though story and song in search of something even more elusive than the wild free-roaming haggis – Scotia, the spirit of Scotland.
Overheard on the way out: “that was very atmospheric” – and so it was. Kirsty has a brilliant way with words, creating such clear pictures of the situations she’s describing that it’s almost impossible to believe that we are not there with her on the haar-gripped, misty quays of Leith or magically crossing a wide river in an enchanted wee boat to meet who knows what on the other side…
And it’s not just tales, brilliant though they are. Snatches of song weave their way through her narrative as she goes in quest of that elusive being Scotia, whose age, appearance and even gender are constantly changing. Fascinating sound-loops are created with just a few notes on the guitar [and that magic box and foot-pedal] and provide unusual accompaniments to her singing. I particularly admire the way the song’s rhythms are maintained against a subtly but definitely non-rhythmic backing.
How and why do songs and stories start? Why do some continue? I hear a tale, it resonates with me. A song expresses the way I am feeling or says something I need to say. We pick them up, play with them a little, maybe, and send them out into the world again for others to receive. Some creators are known by name: we meet Carolina, Lady Nairne, whose poems and songs were published anonymously during her lifetime, as it was most improper that a Lady should be a published author. Her ‘land of the leal’ talks to a parent facing the imminent death of their child, promising them that life in that blessed land is much more joyful than this on earth, and that the child will be there to welcome their parent to it in time.
Lest our spirits be too dashed by this sorrow, we made a quick excursion to an oyster cellar – far removed from today’s elegant ‘oysters and champagne’ establishments, this was somewhere people of all kinds could go to argue, debate, discuss and doubtless sing, while consuming oysters and porter and, perhaps, eyeing up the oyster wenches.
There was all this and more – all containing that mix of darkness and light, sadness and joy that weaves through Scots stories and songs, that is Scotia. We must sing the dark as well as the light, the grief as well as the happiness: all this make us human, make us Scots.
Scotland Unsung, Netherbow Theatre at Scottish Storytelling Centre, (Venue 30), for more information go to: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/scotland-unsung
ScotsGay Arts 