Spoiling, Traverse, Review

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Rating (out of 5)
4
Show info
Company
Traverse Theatre Company
Production
John McCann (writer), Orla O’Loughlin (director) Anthony Lamble (designer), Colin Grenfell (lighting) and Danny Krass (composer and sound designer)
Performers
Gabriel Quigley (Fiona), Richard Clements (Mark)
Running time
50mins

Following a victory for the Yes campaign, the world’s media awaits speeches from Scotland’s Foreign Minister designate and her UK counterpart to set out their new relationship. All very positive and forward looking, except that she would rather speak from the heart than from a script. Her advisor has a serious diplomatic problem on his hands.

In a set that echoes the sombre dark woods and big windows of the upper echelons of St Andrew’s House, a small mountain of crumpled paper lies on the parquet flooring. From beneath it emerges foul mouthed and heavily pregnant Fiona (Gabriel Quigley) who has clearly spent the night in the office. The phone rings as she scrambles to make herself decent but her visitor is not who she is expecting. Instead of her intimate ally, Paul, it is a stranger.

Queen’s double honours graduate Mark (Richard Clements) has been recruited from Northern Ireland to make this important media event go smoothly.

What follows is a clash between the loose cannon who holds the powerful post and the suited advisor steeped in Civil Service weasel words like ‘dispositive’, all delivered in language worthy of The Thick of It.

McCann’s play is a salute to ballsy, principled independent women and Gabriel Quigley takes on that role with might. She is that maverick, nae messin wumman that won’t be pigeon holed; won’t take their way or the highway. The dialogue throws into relief that tension between doing the so-called right thing and doing what is in your heart.

Richard Clements has an impressively strong stage presence as he embodies the disillusioned Ulsterman looking to Scotland for hope and change.

The play’s language may be euphemistically described as being of an adult nature but alongside that colour, it is laden with other riches like the ruling élite being referred to as the ‘Eton Mess’. The list of spiky sound bites towards the end is not just linguistic fun but yet another example of the ideology of inclusiveness. What seems to be the new symbol of Scotland, the chocolate tea cake, has a minor but significant role!

This timeously political play is a self-confessed love letter to Scotland, the adopted home of emerging playwright John McCann. Originally developed during the Traverse Fifty project, it is part of the Made in Scotland Showcase and returns as a full length piece to the Traverse this August to have its World Première.

Suitability 14+
Friday 1 – Sunday 24 Aug (no performance Mondays/times vary)
Tickets: £18 full price/£13 standard concession/£8 other concession.