Berry picking, neep pulling, basket making: Scotland’s travelling folk stayed close to the land, following the changing seasons from place to place, sleeping beneath the stars, selling the wares they made. But by the mid-1930s, this centuries-old culture - and an entire way of life - was under threat. Read more …
For young Bessie Townsley, travelling the roads of Perthshire and Angus with her family and friends is education enough. But the law says otherwise and the family has to winter in Brechin each year so that Bessie can attend her compulsory 100 days of school. And from her fellow students, Bessie soon learns that the travelling life she loves can prompt very different reactions in others.
Yet Bessie turns out to be an excellent student and, encouraged by a sympathetic teacher, becomes a candidate for a high school scholarship. But if Bessie is to fulfil her potential, the Townsleys may have to abandon life on the road for good. For her parents, it’s a sacrifice worth making. Others, however, will do anything to stop a “dirty tinker” from succeeding.
The company does justice to an excellent play that should appeal to both locals and tourists.
The Yellow on the Broom proves yet again that the episodic novel is very distinct from, and difficult to translate to, the theatre. Downie keeps Bessie’s moments of narration to a minimum, but the production often lacks pace and, at two hours and 35 minutes (including interval), it ultimately outstays its welcome – something the Townsleys are often made to feel.
If this is at times undermined by cartoonish portrayals of gallus Glasgow besoms, eccentric toffs and dubious clergymen, Durnin, Downie and company have presented a moving and timely portrait of a community for whom home is forever a town away.
Heartfelt.
Pitlochry Festival Theatre, Pitlochry from Thursday June 12, 2014, until Wednesday October 15, 2014. More info: www.pitlochry.org.uk
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