A story of comic chaos and dramatic conflict between Protestants and Catholics in Glasgow on the day of an Orange Walk. Read more …
Rapture, Scotland’s leading contemporary touring theatre company, are proud to present this Scottish theatre classic, in a thrilling new production.
Set on the day of the Orange Walk, Bill MacWilliam, is determined that his son, Cameron, will join him on the walk. However, prompted by his mother’s recent death, Cameron has started to question his father’s beliefs.
Matters come to a head with the arrival of the, staunch Irish catholic, spinster from downstairs and her pregnant niece. Father is pitted against son and niece against aunt, as old prejudices are questioned and new ideals sought.
This will be the fortieth anniversary of this political comedy, which still resonates in a Scotland where sectarian chants are heard on football terraces and nail bombs are being sent through the post.
A timely revival even if the points about the real roots of sectarianism lying in politics not religion are over simplistic.
The play’s revival is a timeous reminder of bigotry’s ugliness even if the specific issues of whether someone is a Billy, a Dan or as the old street chant included ‘an old tin can’, have been publicly tamped down.
The single room set struggles to contain the powerful magnitude of the characters (and what they’re saying) but although the narrative is interesting and important, the unimaginative action happening on stage doesn’t quite match the subject becoming a little tedious.
This production, for all its vivid qualities, leaves the play looking like a period piece, both aesthetically and politically; and MacMillan, I think, deserves slightly better than that.
Director Michael Emans's old-fashioned box-set production does little to suggest contemporary relevance...but [the actors'] performances are strong and there's spark enough still in the language to hold the attention.
But despite its enduring relevance, The Sash shows its age, particularly in its comedy. It still elicits laughs but the jokes often feel dated, even when they’re not trying to hammer home the prejudices of its characters. Still, director Michael Emans is right to dust off the play for this Scottish tour and make us question how far society has really come since Bill McWilliam’s day.
Theatre director Michael Emans set to revive Hector MacMillan's The Sash
Jane McCarry talks of sectarian study in The Sash
On Tour, from Wednesday April 24, 2013, until Saturday June 1, 2013.
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