When badass bounty hunter Màiri MacNeill moseys into the half empty hotel of a one-horse town in 1888 Quebec, it looks like the end of the trail for her former partner in crime, Donald Morrison.
For the Gaelic speaking Scots settlers who live there, it looks like the history about to be made will put them on the map forever after.
Having left Màiri in the lurch in Texas seven years earlier, Donald is a wanted man several times over. The Pinkerton Detective Agency is on his trail, and it looks like they might save everything, including Jean Baptiste and Uilleamina’s hotel, where the local bigwig known as the Major still rules the roost.
The storm that’s brewing sees everyone holed up in the hotel bar, alas, where a new set of myths are about to be whipped up.
Read more theatre news and reviews
This is the merry dance that ensues in Calum L.MacLeòid’s new play for Glasgow based Gaelic theatre company, Theatre Gu Leòr. Performed in an easy mix of English, Scottish Gaelic and Québécoise, Muireann Kelly’s production is a slow burning affair, played out Becky Minto’s wood-lined saloon bar set, with cracked folk music underscoring the action.
Elspeth Turner leaps into the role of Màiri as a wronged woman who takes a walk on the wild side and winds up as much of an outlaw as her quarry.
As Donald, Dòl Eoin McKinnon invests his character with similar swagger. There is moving interplay between Sam Smith as Jean Baptiste and MJ Deans as Uilleamina, while Daibhidh Walker’s Major sets a template for corrupt officialdom to come.
Confined to the saloon, and with a focus on storytelling, there are moments MacLeòid’s play recalls the poetic flourishes of Irish drama, only broken up by choreographed fight scenes.
Produced in association with An Lanntair arts centre in Stornoway, MacLeòid and Theatre Gu Leòr are here exploring the frontiers of a generation of migrants in search of new narratives to define themselves. This is how legends are born.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here