Arts:Blog

Theatre Review: Nan Shepherd: Naked and Unashamed ****

Anna Burnside reviews a 'hugely satisfying' production that's 'entertaining and informative without ever preaching or editorialising.'

It’s more than 10 years since Caroline Criado-Perez and a bunch of other determined women demanded women of note on our currency. In 2016, Nan Shepherd became the first female writer to feature.

This is the story behind the face on the Royal Bank of Scotland fiver, and what a great tale it is. The author of The Living Mountain was a teacher, a naturalist, friend to Neil Gunn and Hugh MacDiarmid. Writers Ellie Zeegan and Richard Baron capture her wit, energy and intellect, and Irene Allan does a masterful job of bringing her to life.

The staging is minimal but clever, with an old-fashioned blackboard keeping us straight about which year we are at in the time-hopping narrative. While Allan conveys Nan from schoolgirl to dotage with body language and a cardigan, David Rankine plays all the men in her life.

One minute he’s her father, taking Nanikins on a nature walk and pointing out the different types of pinecone. Then he’s a 70s journalist, meeting his match when he turns up to chat to the forgotten novelist in her home. 

Rankine does all this very generously, always allowing Allan’s Nan the spotlight she was denied for so many years. 

This is a delightful production, the touch light, the performances pitch perfect. When the journalist comes on the picture of Nan in a headband that is now on a fiver, she laughs and dismisses it, saying that it’s just as well that will never see the light of day again.

Baron’s direction is pacy and smart, his choice of theatrical devices perfect for the intimate studio theatre at Pitlochry. It adds up to a hugely satisfying evening, entertaining and informative without ever preaching or editorialising. 

Finally, Nan Shepherd is up where she belongs: in the Scottish canon as well as on the Scottish currency.

Nan Shepherd: Naked and Unashamed performs in repertory at Pitlochry Festival Theatre until July 6, 2024. For dates and times, check the website. Photo by Fraser Band.