Ciara, Traverse Theatre

'I'm taking your eyes', he'd say, 'and keeping them safe. I'm taking your ears and keeping them safe'. Read more …

Ciara's father Mick kept her as his hidden treasure, making sure his only daughter was shielded from what he did and the men and women with whom he associated.

Now Mick is dead and his legacy, so bound up in the landscape of Glasgow, that infamous no mean city, must be faced.

As Ciara seeks to further the reputation of her art gallery, her world starts to fragment. Marked by the deep contradictions of her father, the art world and the city that made them all, Ciara stands on a threshold. By facing the past, her future blows wide open.

Ciara is a spellbinding play by acclaimed playwright David Harrower (Good With People, Blackbird, Knives in Hens, A Slow Air). Written especially for 2013 CATS Award winner of Best Female Performance Blythe Duff (Taggart, Iron, Good With People), it reunites one of Scotland's greatest writers with one of our finest actresses. Directed by Traverse Artistic Director, Orla O'Loughlin, Ciara offers a compelling insight into a world, by turns, terrifying and exhilarating. This is an epic story for our times.

The critical consensus

David Harrower’s script was rhythmic and lyrically beautiful, Blythe Duff delivering this almost poetic monologue with a conviction that was accomplished and utterly believable. Yet it was difficult to understand why this woman was telling us her story, and why now?

(*) Justine Blundell, Edinburgh Guide, 06/12/2013