Canadians Penner and Wood may look like a grizzly bear teamed up with John Malkovich, but these are very serious musicians with an imaginative approach to their craft. Wood sits quietly playing electric guitar and dobro, adding backing vocals, while also fiddling around with electronics. Penner dominates the stage, either standing out front or sat at the small drum kit, singing, playing acoustic guitar and harmonica, percussion and more electronics.
The songs are lengthy by conventional standards, but each number includes a variety of tempos and lyric styles, breaks for Woods guitar work, and end up as mini symphonies. Rock, folk, blues, hip hop are amongst the influences melded together to create the Penner and Wood sound.
The electronic background soundscapes are mesmeric, the driving rhythms on the rockier number get the feet moving and the lyrics intrigue. In the first half Penner talked little, with only one song getting anything by way of introduction. He said more in the second, and showed he's a fine storyteller. It's a shame he doesn't use that skill more. Whereas his singing is fascinating. It's not, technically, a great voice, but he makes great use of what he's got, pushing the boundaries of his range, gruff, soft, loud, whispering.
At times I felt lost in the complexity of the pieces, so that the occasional simple guitar and vocal number came as a relief. Yet it was a surprise each time to realise the set was an end and 45 minutes had suddenly passed. So they were definitely doing something right!
Wednesday 28 November 2018
The Jellyman's Daughter
A return to the House for the first time in a long while, drawn there by one of our favourite bands. I last say Graham and Emily back in April, at the launch of their excellent new album, Dead Reckoning. Now they've got the vinyl version available and are touring again.
Once again they appeared as a four piece band, with Jamie Francis on banjo and, this time, album bassist Paul Gilbody playing the deep notes. The setlist majored on their newer work, with a few oldies thrown in. Memorable melodies, smart arrangements, Coe's virtuoso cello work and Kelly's powerful vocals define the JD sound and satisfy the ears. Plenty of funny stories and comments in between songs. As always Jellyman's Daughter deliver.
Support came from Americans Adrian & Meredith, a guitar, fiddle and vocals duo singing their own songs with a certain je ne sais quoi. Decent musicians, adequate singers, the songs lack memorable melodies, but their zany style and daft sense of humour make them a very watchable live act.
Once again they appeared as a four piece band, with Jamie Francis on banjo and, this time, album bassist Paul Gilbody playing the deep notes. The setlist majored on their newer work, with a few oldies thrown in. Memorable melodies, smart arrangements, Coe's virtuoso cello work and Kelly's powerful vocals define the JD sound and satisfy the ears. Plenty of funny stories and comments in between songs. As always Jellyman's Daughter deliver.
Support came from Americans Adrian & Meredith, a guitar, fiddle and vocals duo singing their own songs with a certain je ne sais quoi. Decent musicians, adequate singers, the songs lack memorable melodies, but their zany style and daft sense of humour make them a very watchable live act.
Wednesday 21 November 2018
Nae Pasaran!
A documentary that combines little known historical fact with a genuinely emotional and heart warming story of solidarity and kindness. Setting the scene, it briefly tells the story of the election, in 1970, of Salvador Allende to the Chilean presidency. His socialist polices were popular with the masses, but less so with big business, much of which was in US hands. Backed by the CIA the Chilean military staged a coup d'etat in '73, using Hawker Hunter jets to bomb the presidential palace. Allende was killed and the fascist regime that succeeded him, led by General Pinochet, imprisoned, tortured and murdered thousands of civilians who were accused of being subversives. Much of the international community reacted in horror at the atrocities taking place in Chile and protest and aid groups sprang up in many countries, including the UK.
Filmmaker Felipe Bustos Sierra is the son of an exile who had to flee from the horrors of Pinochet, and set out to document the story of one group of Scottish workers and the impact their actions had for the people of Chile. Combining archive footage with interviews, CGI recreations and recent events it's a gripping tale, cleverly edited to build up to a climactic ending.
The aforementioned Hunter aircraft used Roll Royce engines which could only be serviced at their plant in East Kilbride. When union shop steward Bob Fulton realised there were Chilean air force engines on their premises he immediately declared he wouldn't work on them, and asked his fellow workers to join him. With the action supported by the local convenor, the engines ended up being put in crates and left outside. They'd rust there for years.
Despite pressure from the Chilean government, and a lack of support from their own union HQ in London, the workers stood firm and refused to compromise, at the risk of their own jobs. They had no idea if their action would have any practical consequences, but their instincts told them that any act of solidarity would have positive consequences. Sadly they never knew just how big an impact they had made until Bustos Sierra sought them out a few years ago.
He was able to show them the hope their actions brought to many at the time, and even led to the release of some prisoners. There are some unsettling moments, with descriptions of the tortures being inflicted, and an interview with an unrepentant air force general who still felt he was the victim of the East Kilbride men's actions! But it's the gratitude of those Chilean survivors, and joyous realisations of the old Scots engineers that remain in the mind most, those and a ceremony that must draw a tear or two of joy from every viewer.
This is an important film, all the more so when fascism is raising it's head in Europe and the US again. Small actions of resistance can have big consequences, solidarity matters, with a united and unionised workforce a key force for good, and it's everyone's job to resist. This is a story for Scotland to be proud of (in contrast to Britain's shame of having a Prime Minister, Thatcher, who was a friend to the brutal Pinochet and did her best to destroy trade unions) and deserves to be known much more widely. See it if you can.
Filmmaker Felipe Bustos Sierra is the son of an exile who had to flee from the horrors of Pinochet, and set out to document the story of one group of Scottish workers and the impact their actions had for the people of Chile. Combining archive footage with interviews, CGI recreations and recent events it's a gripping tale, cleverly edited to build up to a climactic ending.
The aforementioned Hunter aircraft used Roll Royce engines which could only be serviced at their plant in East Kilbride. When union shop steward Bob Fulton realised there were Chilean air force engines on their premises he immediately declared he wouldn't work on them, and asked his fellow workers to join him. With the action supported by the local convenor, the engines ended up being put in crates and left outside. They'd rust there for years.
Despite pressure from the Chilean government, and a lack of support from their own union HQ in London, the workers stood firm and refused to compromise, at the risk of their own jobs. They had no idea if their action would have any practical consequences, but their instincts told them that any act of solidarity would have positive consequences. Sadly they never knew just how big an impact they had made until Bustos Sierra sought them out a few years ago.
He was able to show them the hope their actions brought to many at the time, and even led to the release of some prisoners. There are some unsettling moments, with descriptions of the tortures being inflicted, and an interview with an unrepentant air force general who still felt he was the victim of the East Kilbride men's actions! But it's the gratitude of those Chilean survivors, and joyous realisations of the old Scots engineers that remain in the mind most, those and a ceremony that must draw a tear or two of joy from every viewer.
This is an important film, all the more so when fascism is raising it's head in Europe and the US again. Small actions of resistance can have big consequences, solidarity matters, with a united and unionised workforce a key force for good, and it's everyone's job to resist. This is a story for Scotland to be proud of (in contrast to Britain's shame of having a Prime Minister, Thatcher, who was a friend to the brutal Pinochet and did her best to destroy trade unions) and deserves to be known much more widely. See it if you can.
Kinnaris Quintet & Saltfishforty, Scots Fiddle Festival, Pleasance
Led by well the well established Highland fiddler Adam Sutherland, the Youth Engagement Project featured a dozen or so fiddlers in their early teenage years, combining to form a band that plays interesting tunes in interesting arrangements. Clearly overawed by the size of their audience at first, they became more relaxed in response to the genuine applause, and their third and final number was free flowing and really well played. Some stars of the future in that line up?
The Kinnaris Quintet released their first album, Free One, earlier this year, and it's the best new music I've heard this year. Their live performance is even more exhilarating. I knew what to expect, having seen them at Celtic Connections earlier this year, and they fully lived up to those (very high) expectations. 5-string fiddler Aileen Gobbi is a lively and entertaining personality, and she took the lead in introducing the tunes and the stories behind them. They have some memorable melodies (June's Garden is a thing of simplistic beauty, led by Mary-Beth Salter's mandolin) and imaginative arrangements, played by a band who are clearly having a great time playing for us and with each other. It's a joy to watch their interactions, and the music ranges through a variety of styles in tempoes, from heart tugging delicacy to driving rhythms driven by Jenn Butterworth's guitar and foot stomping. A superb set.
They were followed by Orkney duo Saltfishforty, with Brian Cromarty on vocals and guitar and Douglas Montgomery playing fiddle. Traditional music, modern compositions, songs of death and songs of love, with a common Orcadian theme throughout. Cromarty doesn't have the greatest of voices technically, but sings well to his limitations and does so with a distinctive style and a sense of humour. Whereas there's no faulting the musicianship of the pair. From slow airs to blisteringly fast and exciting reels their technique, interplay and mutual feel for the music produces constant surprises and delights. They're funny guys too, even when playing, and both can tell a good story and get the crowd laughing.
The evening ended with Kinnaris and the Project joining the duo on stage for one big final number that got us clapping along and must have given the youngsters a memorable end to their big stage experience.
Soundhouse Benefit Gig, Queens Hall
Soundhouse has grown from the passion of Douglas Robertson and Jane-Ann Purdy for providing musicians with gigs where the performers get the ticket money rather than having it sucked up by promoters and venues. They've run gigs in their own home for many years and at the Traverse for the past four, but are now trying to raise funds for a permanent centre where musicians can rehearse, record and perform, something Edinburgh badly needs.
In doing so they've established their credentials as backers of all genres of acoustic music and friends to aspiring to musicos. So for this one-off gig, to raise funds for the Soundhouse charity, all the musicians gave their time and talent for free, contributing to the greater good of the music scene. The fact that the line up contained so much top-line talent is a tribute to just how important Soundhouse is seen by the musicians themselves.
Kicking off the evening was a couple of numbers from the Soundhouse Choir, definitely one of the best of the many amateur choirs in the city, benefitting from direction by Heather Macleod of the Bevvy Sisters, and sympathetically accompanied on guitar by David Donnelly from the same band. Strong arrangements and songs well suited to their abilities.
They were followed by modern jazz trio Bancroft/Caribe/Bancroft with brothers Phil and Tom on sax and drums respectively, and Mario Caribe on double bass. Plenty of improv, long solos, and a strong understanding between them. Not really my thing, so at times it was more admirable than enjoyable, but there was no faulting the musicianship on display.
Closing out the first half was Savourna Stevenson on clarsach, accompanied by Steve Kettley on saxophone and clarinet. A sparkling set, with Stevenson's dexterous harp playing as fascinating to watch as to listen to. Even an evacuation due to a (false) fire alarm couldn't spoil the performance. Modern tunes played in traditional style with the bell like clarity of those strings.
The second half was given over to Moishe's Bagel, the stunningly inventive Kletzmer band I've reviewed before, in 2015 and 2016 and to which I have l;ittle to add. As amazing and surprising and grin inducing as ever.
The evening was rounded out with all the musicians, and choir, joining on stage for one final singalong with the audience. A great night out for a great cause.
In doing so they've established their credentials as backers of all genres of acoustic music and friends to aspiring to musicos. So for this one-off gig, to raise funds for the Soundhouse charity, all the musicians gave their time and talent for free, contributing to the greater good of the music scene. The fact that the line up contained so much top-line talent is a tribute to just how important Soundhouse is seen by the musicians themselves.
Kicking off the evening was a couple of numbers from the Soundhouse Choir, definitely one of the best of the many amateur choirs in the city, benefitting from direction by Heather Macleod of the Bevvy Sisters, and sympathetically accompanied on guitar by David Donnelly from the same band. Strong arrangements and songs well suited to their abilities.
They were followed by modern jazz trio Bancroft/Caribe/Bancroft with brothers Phil and Tom on sax and drums respectively, and Mario Caribe on double bass. Plenty of improv, long solos, and a strong understanding between them. Not really my thing, so at times it was more admirable than enjoyable, but there was no faulting the musicianship on display.
Closing out the first half was Savourna Stevenson on clarsach, accompanied by Steve Kettley on saxophone and clarinet. A sparkling set, with Stevenson's dexterous harp playing as fascinating to watch as to listen to. Even an evacuation due to a (false) fire alarm couldn't spoil the performance. Modern tunes played in traditional style with the bell like clarity of those strings.
The second half was given over to Moishe's Bagel, the stunningly inventive Kletzmer band I've reviewed before, in 2015 and 2016 and to which I have l;ittle to add. As amazing and surprising and grin inducing as ever.
The evening was rounded out with all the musicians, and choir, joining on stage for one final singalong with the audience. A great night out for a great cause.
The House by the Sea (La Villa)
A sleepy village clustered around a harbour near Marseille is the setting for this intriguing family drama, setting the pace of modern life against something gentler and kinder. And the gentle pace of the movie itself gives some clue to which side of the divide the director lies on.
Once a thriving community, the village now has a preponderance of holiday homes. Maurice, one of the few remaining of the old guard, suffers a paralysing stroke and his middle aged children gather to discuss what's to be done about his care. Armand has stayed on, running the family restaurant, true to his father's ideas of catering for the people. Joining him are Joseph and Angele, the former a cynical, depressed, redundant academic, the latter a successful stage actor who hasn't been back for over twenty years following the tragic death of her daughter.
Events pull them together and pull them apart, revealing deep bonds and equally deep divisions from the past. The characters reveal their pasts, their fears, and hopes for the future. There's also interactions with Maurice's elderly neighbours, their successful son Yvan, Joseph's much younger lover Berangere, and young fisherman Benjamin who is obsessed with Angele. Add in death, love, refugees and armed soldiers and there is plenty going on to enlarge our knowledge of the siblings, and for them to ponder on their own failures and successes, and for the future to change before their eyes.
With hardly any soundtrack the film allows the audience to judge mood for themselves, to fel along with the people on screen without musical manipulation. There are a few bum notes. Benjamin is the least believable of the characters, while the soldiers feel like add ons to the plot. But overall it's a beautifully balanced film, drama and introspection well mixed, although not much by way of great visual moments. There are strong performances from Jean-Pierre Darrousin as the caustic Joseph and Ariane Ascaride as the wounded Angele.
Thoughtful, thought provoking and very enjoyable.
Once a thriving community, the village now has a preponderance of holiday homes. Maurice, one of the few remaining of the old guard, suffers a paralysing stroke and his middle aged children gather to discuss what's to be done about his care. Armand has stayed on, running the family restaurant, true to his father's ideas of catering for the people. Joining him are Joseph and Angele, the former a cynical, depressed, redundant academic, the latter a successful stage actor who hasn't been back for over twenty years following the tragic death of her daughter.
Events pull them together and pull them apart, revealing deep bonds and equally deep divisions from the past. The characters reveal their pasts, their fears, and hopes for the future. There's also interactions with Maurice's elderly neighbours, their successful son Yvan, Joseph's much younger lover Berangere, and young fisherman Benjamin who is obsessed with Angele. Add in death, love, refugees and armed soldiers and there is plenty going on to enlarge our knowledge of the siblings, and for them to ponder on their own failures and successes, and for the future to change before their eyes.
With hardly any soundtrack the film allows the audience to judge mood for themselves, to fel along with the people on screen without musical manipulation. There are a few bum notes. Benjamin is the least believable of the characters, while the soldiers feel like add ons to the plot. But overall it's a beautifully balanced film, drama and introspection well mixed, although not much by way of great visual moments. There are strong performances from Jean-Pierre Darrousin as the caustic Joseph and Ariane Ascaride as the wounded Angele.
Thoughtful, thought provoking and very enjoyable.
Tuesday 13 November 2018
Outlaw King
Robert the Bruce is one of those big historical characters that's become more myth than reality across the years, and the gaping holes in known fact offer the storyteller plenty of room to imagine. Directed by David Mackenzie, Outlaw King concentrates on period between 1304 and 12307 which saw the Wallace rebellion subdued, Scotland under English military occupation, and subsequent beginnings of the fight which would eventually lead to Bannockburn and untrammelled Scots independence until Darien took a hand three hundred years later.
Bruce (Chris Pine) is first seen, reluctantly, swearing fealty to Edward (Stephen Dillane), along with many other Scots noblemen, and sparring with the king's son (Billy Howle), later Edward II, who takes a childish delight in baiting the beaten Scot, an antagonism that runs through the film and will last beyond into the years that follow. Edward gives Bruce an English wife, Elizabeth (Florence Pugh), as a means of drawing him in further to his influence.
When Edward has the rebel leader Wallace executed and his body parts displayed at strategic points in Scotland the population is even more resentful of English rule and Bruce tries to build up an alliance of nobles to start another uprising. In doing so he murders John Comyn, his rival to the crown, and alienates many of those he needs to convince. An attempt to take on the English army in set battle is treacherously destroyed by Valence (Sam Spruell), Edward's general, and Bruce finds himself on the run with a small band of supporters. Using guerilla tactics he steadily builds an army which, although vastly outnumbered, defeats the English knights at Loudon Hill. Bruce is on his way.
It's a powerful story, but the script lets it down. Too often the dialogue rings false, and there's little depth to the characters. Pine's Bruce attracts loyalty and affection, but it's not always clear why. He's certainly human enough, but his real world cleverness, or deviousness, is not given a chance to show through. There are some comments about his effectiveness as a guerilla campaigner, and he's shown as an effective general in set battles, but the political skills he must have possessed aren't even hinted at, leaving us with a half formed character.
Pine does a good job with what he's been given and does enough to keep us rooting for him. Dillane's underplaying of Edward creates a more sinister character than a more overt performance could, and there's strong support form a host of Scottish stalwarts like James Cosmo, Tony Curran and Alastair Mackenzie. Pugh stands out despite being given little to do and gives her Elizabeth a complexity that belies how little screen time she has.
Then there's the other big star of the show - Scotland itself, both scenically and as the idea of a nation.
So is Outlaw King the new Braveheart? Thankfully the answer to that is No. Unlike it's predecessor it has a more than competent performance from the lead actor, with Pine able to hold up his accent (whether or not it's the 'right' accent is another matter...) and make us feel we're watching a real human being; the storyline hasn't played too fast and loose with historical fact; and I didn't find myself laughing out loud in ridicule at inappropriate moments (although there are a few good jokes which deserve more legitimate laughter, including a sneaking reference to the infamous spider of legend). Outlaw King is by far the better film - but that was never going to be difficult.
Is Outlaw King to be an inspiration for the Yes movement? Mibbes aye, mibbes naw. But there are already so many better reasons to pursue independence than can be provided by a
Is Outlaw King a great movie? No, and by some margin. The script is too flawed, the battle scenes overlong and it barely scratches the surface of it's subject. But it is, tedious minutes of slaughter aside, entertaining enough with a mix of drama, action, period authenticity (there is a LOT of mud!) and some romance that keeps the interest. And gives a sense of being a prequel to some future project that will culminate at Bannockburn. Maybe that's the one to reveal a deeper Bruce.
And make sure you watch to the end of the credits. Kathryn Joseph's closing vocals are worth staying for and will have done her profile no harm at ll.
Bruce (Chris Pine) is first seen, reluctantly, swearing fealty to Edward (Stephen Dillane), along with many other Scots noblemen, and sparring with the king's son (Billy Howle), later Edward II, who takes a childish delight in baiting the beaten Scot, an antagonism that runs through the film and will last beyond into the years that follow. Edward gives Bruce an English wife, Elizabeth (Florence Pugh), as a means of drawing him in further to his influence.
When Edward has the rebel leader Wallace executed and his body parts displayed at strategic points in Scotland the population is even more resentful of English rule and Bruce tries to build up an alliance of nobles to start another uprising. In doing so he murders John Comyn, his rival to the crown, and alienates many of those he needs to convince. An attempt to take on the English army in set battle is treacherously destroyed by Valence (Sam Spruell), Edward's general, and Bruce finds himself on the run with a small band of supporters. Using guerilla tactics he steadily builds an army which, although vastly outnumbered, defeats the English knights at Loudon Hill. Bruce is on his way.
It's a powerful story, but the script lets it down. Too often the dialogue rings false, and there's little depth to the characters. Pine's Bruce attracts loyalty and affection, but it's not always clear why. He's certainly human enough, but his real world cleverness, or deviousness, is not given a chance to show through. There are some comments about his effectiveness as a guerilla campaigner, and he's shown as an effective general in set battles, but the political skills he must have possessed aren't even hinted at, leaving us with a half formed character.
Pine does a good job with what he's been given and does enough to keep us rooting for him. Dillane's underplaying of Edward creates a more sinister character than a more overt performance could, and there's strong support form a host of Scottish stalwarts like James Cosmo, Tony Curran and Alastair Mackenzie. Pugh stands out despite being given little to do and gives her Elizabeth a complexity that belies how little screen time she has.
Then there's the other big star of the show - Scotland itself, both scenically and as the idea of a nation.
So is Outlaw King the new Braveheart? Thankfully the answer to that is No. Unlike it's predecessor it has a more than competent performance from the lead actor, with Pine able to hold up his accent (whether or not it's the 'right' accent is another matter...) and make us feel we're watching a real human being; the storyline hasn't played too fast and loose with historical fact; and I didn't find myself laughing out loud in ridicule at inappropriate moments (although there are a few good jokes which deserve more legitimate laughter, including a sneaking reference to the infamous spider of legend). Outlaw King is by far the better film - but that was never going to be difficult.
Is Outlaw King to be an inspiration for the Yes movement? Mibbes aye, mibbes naw. But there are already so many better reasons to pursue independence than can be provided by a
Is Outlaw King a great movie? No, and by some margin. The script is too flawed, the battle scenes overlong and it barely scratches the surface of it's subject. But it is, tedious minutes of slaughter aside, entertaining enough with a mix of drama, action, period authenticity (there is a LOT of mud!) and some romance that keeps the interest. And gives a sense of being a prequel to some future project that will culminate at Bannockburn. Maybe that's the one to reveal a deeper Bruce.
And make sure you watch to the end of the credits. Kathryn Joseph's closing vocals are worth staying for and will have done her profile no harm at ll.
Dallahan, Voodoo Rooms
Once again I find myself reviewing my favourite Scots/Irish/Hungarian band, and an act not to be missed when the opportunity arises. Tonight's gig was a stop on a short tour to launch their third album, Smallworld. The lineup remains as it was in my last two reviews of the band's live act, and it's good to see that stability enduring. They are Jack Badcock on guitar and lead vocals, Jani Lang fiddling and delivering the occasional, Hungarian, lead vocal, Andrew Waite playing piano accordion and adding some backing vocals, Bev Morris on double bass and the multi talented Ciaran Ryan on banjo, mandolin and fiddle.
A couple of familiar numbers to begin the night and then into the new material. It's mostly familiar Dallahan territory, songs of love and death, Hungarian ballads and sets of tunes surprise with the mix of influences brought into their arrangements. Badcock sings Mother, a plaintive Irish song of famine, Lang's huskier tones work well on the lively Dilmano in an arrangement that takes us a thousand miles away from Scotland, and Waite has written a beautiful melody for his latest nephew, Toby, while Sagan's mixes three original tunes into a set that constantly varies in melody and tempo. Plenty of their better know material mixed in to the set list as well.
Morris provides an imaginative and solid underpinning, Badcock's voice is distinctive, clear and deceptively easy to listen to, and the other three throw in improvisations and embellishments that add depth and variety to well constructed arrangements. They have a decent enough stage presence with some humour and information about the numbers. Their musicianship is not in question. So where was everyone? In what is effectively their adopted home town they only played to about seventy or eighty people. Dallahan are far too good a band to remain a secret to the few, and deserve a much wider following.
Thursday 8 November 2018
The Last Witch, Traverse
Rona Munro's imagining of the events surrounding the last execution for witchcraft in Britain. We're in Dornoch in 1727 and widow Janet Horne (Deirdre Davis) has a local reputation for having a bit of a magic touch. She can help the sick get well, but equally she's said to be able to put a curse on too. In reality she's a fantasist, an imaginative storyteller who's careless with words and heedless of the impact they can have in a superstitious society that still believes firmly in the existence of witches and their links to the devil. That she uses hallucinogenic herbs and her teenage daughter Helen (Fiona Wood) was born with deformed hands and feet only adds to people's wariness and suspicion.
When neighbour Douglas Begg (Alan Steele) accuses of her of putting a curse on his dying cattle the authorities, religious and secular, are bound to investigate. A vivacious Janet teases Niall Graham Mackay-Bruce), the cautious minister of the kirk, and flirts with Captain Ross, the
Captain Ross (David Rankine) the Sheriff, who maintains a very black and white legalistic view of the world. And of women. He is the representative of a deeply patriarchal society that views women as objects to be used or feared. Begg's wife Elspeth (Helen Logan) is acutely aware that she must fit in with the crowd and sacrifice her principles to ensure she doesn't meet the same fate as her friend.
Act 1 takes us through the build up to the accusation and arrest. The post-interval Janet is a very different creature to that we've seen before, of chains, sackcloth and dirt as Ross seeks to break her spirit and make her confess. There is no doubt in the Sheriff's mind that she will and must do so, for the lay requires it. And he's not beyond stooping to dirty tricks to get what he wants. Once the process has begun he can only envisage one ending, whatever the consequences for others (the parallel with the UK's current political chaos is surely coincidental as the script dates back to 2009).
The set is stark, but fascinating, contrasting the cracked bareness of the rocks with a looming sky that shows up the hard life these people lived and providing a focal performance area. There are strong performances throughout with Davis providing a sparkling lead. But most notable was the seventh member of the cast, Alan Mirren as Nick, a traveller who may or may not be the devil, and has a crucial role in the outcome of Horne's fate. Mirren is a sardonic presence, gets some of the best laughs (despite the subject matter Munro has injected plenty of humour), and provides an element of supernatural mystery to the tale.
Flaws? The first act is a bit all over the place and lacks coherence at times, with some overlong or unnecessary scenes. In contrast the second flies by and the execution scene is imaginatively portrayed, although the final scene feels out of character. Despite which I'd recommend going to see The Last Witch. It brings to life a disturbing part of our history and demonstrates the deep roots that underlie the misogyny which still exists. Women's voices need to be heard.
When neighbour Douglas Begg (Alan Steele) accuses of her of putting a curse on his dying cattle the authorities, religious and secular, are bound to investigate. A vivacious Janet teases Niall Graham Mackay-Bruce), the cautious minister of the kirk, and flirts with Captain Ross, the
Captain Ross (David Rankine) the Sheriff, who maintains a very black and white legalistic view of the world. And of women. He is the representative of a deeply patriarchal society that views women as objects to be used or feared. Begg's wife Elspeth (Helen Logan) is acutely aware that she must fit in with the crowd and sacrifice her principles to ensure she doesn't meet the same fate as her friend.
Act 1 takes us through the build up to the accusation and arrest. The post-interval Janet is a very different creature to that we've seen before, of chains, sackcloth and dirt as Ross seeks to break her spirit and make her confess. There is no doubt in the Sheriff's mind that she will and must do so, for the lay requires it. And he's not beyond stooping to dirty tricks to get what he wants. Once the process has begun he can only envisage one ending, whatever the consequences for others (the parallel with the UK's current political chaos is surely coincidental as the script dates back to 2009).
The set is stark, but fascinating, contrasting the cracked bareness of the rocks with a looming sky that shows up the hard life these people lived and providing a focal performance area. There are strong performances throughout with Davis providing a sparkling lead. But most notable was the seventh member of the cast, Alan Mirren as Nick, a traveller who may or may not be the devil, and has a crucial role in the outcome of Horne's fate. Mirren is a sardonic presence, gets some of the best laughs (despite the subject matter Munro has injected plenty of humour), and provides an element of supernatural mystery to the tale.
Flaws? The first act is a bit all over the place and lacks coherence at times, with some overlong or unnecessary scenes. In contrast the second flies by and the execution scene is imaginatively portrayed, although the final scene feels out of character. Despite which I'd recommend going to see The Last Witch. It brings to life a disturbing part of our history and demonstrates the deep roots that underlie the misogyny which still exists. Women's voices need to be heard.
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