Comments on: The Secret Commonwealth http://playpiepint.com/?p=605 Original Glasgow theatre Wed, 08 Sep 2010 15:58:25 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Susan Porteous http://playpiepint.com/?p=605&cpage=1#comment-109 Susan Porteous Wed, 10 Feb 2010 20:04:17 +0000 http://playpiepint.com/?p=605#comment-109 Having been transported into that place where the "real world" meets the unknown by a beautifully written and beautifully acted play, The Secret Commonwealth, I cannot agree with those who find the play irrelevant to today. I can only mourn what we have lost in our age of so-called civilisation. Having been transported into that place where the “real world” meets the unknown by a beautifully written and beautifully acted play, The Secret Commonwealth, I cannot agree with those who find the play irrelevant to today. I can only mourn what we have lost in our age of so-called civilisation.

]]> By: Julie Logan http://playpiepint.com/?p=605&cpage=1#comment-95 Julie Logan Thu, 04 Feb 2010 11:21:55 +0000 http://playpiepint.com/?p=605#comment-95 The Secret Commonwealth is a play imagined in the modern day that simultaneously predates and postdates the preoccupation with the divided self that exists in Scottish literature. Robert Kirk personifies the Caledonian antisyzygy as he struggles through life wrestling with the pull of the new world and the allure of the old. There are times when the monologue almost slips into the realms of becoming a glorified storytelling exercise. However it is saved from this by the performance of Brennan and works best as a piece of drama when Robert's words are set against the evocative singing of Deirdre Graham. The Secret Commonwealth is a play imagined in the modern day that simultaneously predates and postdates the preoccupation with the divided self that exists in Scottish literature. Robert Kirk personifies the Caledonian antisyzygy as he struggles through life wrestling with the pull of the new world and the allure of the old. There are times when the monologue almost slips into the realms of becoming a glorified storytelling exercise. However it is saved from this by the performance of Brennan and works best as a piece of drama when Robert’s words are set against the evocative singing of Deirdre Graham.

]]> By: John McDonald http://playpiepint.com/?p=605&cpage=1#comment-94 John McDonald Wed, 03 Feb 2010 20:22:33 +0000 http://playpiepint.com/?p=605#comment-94 "Critics' Circle Review" The Secret Commonwealth confirms that Brigadoon is alive and well. A solo performance is always challenging. Liam Brennan paced about in his elasticated waist trousers in a manner reminiscent of Jack Sparrow, shouting his lines with gusto. The Highland Scenario was laden with pseudo scottish cliches, from oatcakes to heather honey; disappointing that Tannochbrae didn't get a mention. Deirdre Graham's lone voice was haunting, although at times The White Heather Club would have better suited the genre. As a portrait of 17th Century highland life the play verges on the comedic “Critics’ Circle Review”
The Secret Commonwealth confirms that Brigadoon is alive and well.
A solo performance is always challenging. Liam Brennan paced about in his elasticated waist trousers in a manner reminiscent of Jack Sparrow, shouting his lines with gusto. The Highland Scenario was laden with pseudo scottish cliches, from oatcakes to heather honey; disappointing that Tannochbrae didn’t get a mention.
Deirdre Graham’s lone voice was haunting, although at times The White Heather Club would have better suited the genre.
As a portrait of 17th Century highland life the play verges on the comedic

]]> By: Critics' Circle Review http://playpiepint.com/?p=605&cpage=1#comment-84 Critics' Circle Review Tue, 02 Feb 2010 00:22:07 +0000 http://playpiepint.com/?p=605#comment-84 Why should you go to see a play about a seventeenth century Scottish minister in a remote Highland village? Well - because it isn't about those things, but about what lies beyond them on the edges, the margins, where languages, cultures and traditions collide and melt, reality isn't reliable and nothing is what it seems. I wasn't at all put off by the one-person monologue form: the speeches were so powerful and mesmerising I was as entranced as the poor minister himself. The acting was great and the whole thing worked. Quite enjoyed the pie too. Why should you go to see a play about a seventeenth century Scottish minister in a remote Highland village?

Well – because it isn’t about those things, but about what lies beyond them on the edges, the margins, where languages, cultures and traditions collide and melt, reality isn’t reliable and nothing is what it seems.

I wasn’t at all put off by the one-person monologue form: the speeches were so powerful and mesmerising I was as entranced as the poor minister himself. The acting was great and the whole thing worked.

Quite enjoyed the pie too.

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