Search

Toggle dark mode:

Saved articles

You have not yet added any article to your bookmarks!

Browse articles

GDPR Compliance

We use cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies, Privacy Policy, and Terms of Service.

The Stornoway Way

 
Paul Fisher Cockburn Review by Paul Fisher Cockburn 4 Published: 16 Oct 2019 Multiple Venues Show Dates: 12 Oct 2019-12 Oct 2019

“We do not live in the back of beyond, we live in the very heart of beyond,” argues Roman Stornoway, a struggling musician and the central protagonist in Kevin MacNeil’s theatrical adaptation of his own novel, a “romantic tragicomedy” and arguably a literary description of the Outer Hebrides that’s far more honest than any picture-laden tourist guide. It’s also a novel about alcoholism, and how, “like all over-thinkers”, Roman proves “an enemy to himself”.

A script that's gloriously not afraid of its innate theatricality.

Presented by Dogstar Theatre Company, there’s one distinctive aspect of this particular production: it’s all-female ensemble. Between them, its cast of three women introduce the characters and situations, play the roles, provide sound-effects and perform a number of songs, in both English and Gaelic, that are either heart-rending or morose, depending on your point of view. (“We’re Gaels: misery is supposed to cheer us up,” they say. They have a point.) It’s a script that’s gloriously not afraid of its innate theatricality – directly addressing us on occasions, and more than ready to milk the audience for humour.

Naomi Stirrat is undoubtedly powerful as Roman, grandly expressing the man’s initial glamour and charm, while not overplaying the selfishness underneath; Rachel Kennedy does well as the ultimately good-natured friend – and never consummated love interest – Eilidh, although is clearly able to have more fun in supporting characters such as drinking companion Captain Moses and “Wee Free Kirk” representative The Reverend, ever ready to ensure that “proper values” are “thrashed into you”. Chloe-Ann Tyler, meantime, has the challenge of presenting the seemingly exotic Hungarian student Eva, a short-lived romance that ultimately ends with Roman thrown onto the street.

There is much to enjoy here; not least the irreverent humour, and an honest look at the realities of alcoholism, a part of Hebridean life that one gathers some would prefer not to be shown at all. It’s also a story of people trying to work out who they are, even when “on the margins of the margin”, though there’s a bleakness in the realisation that it’s a challenge not everyone appears able to meet.

Amir Nisi

Paul Fisher Cockburn

Paul Fisher Cockburn is an Edinburgh-based freelance journalist and editor.

Related to this article:

Location:

Performances

The Blurb:

Adapted by Kevin MacNeil from his best-selling novel, The Stornoway Way is full of wit and wisdom, both a romantic evocation and a scabrous critique of the Isle of Lewis, that “great and symbolic chip off Scotland’s shoulder”. It tells the story of Roman Stornoway, a struggling musician, and his best friend Eilidh. Both are disaffected underachievers, who use alcohol to fuel and delay their dreams of escape from the island. They eventually manage to make their way to Edinburgh, where Roman is smitten by the mysterious Hungarian student Eva. With a variety of voices from Lewis and a musical soundtrack featuring original and traditional songs in Gaelic and English, The Stornoway Way is irreverent, witty and honest, a bittersweet theatrical romcom, twisted, squeezed out and hungover. A story about the search for the ideal, the desire for happiness and the struggle to come to terms with who you are, versus who you want to be.

The Play That Goes Wrong
Wicked
Titanique
Popular now
Lion King
Matilda
Phantom of the Opera