Contemporary Scottish Plays: Caledonia; Bullet Catch; the Artist

Alistair Beaton

To paraphrase Alistair Beatons Caledonia the first play in this collection The English have anthologies, the Spanish have anthologies, the French have anthologies . . . why should not Scotland have its anthology?Scotland is entering a crucial period in its history, where its identity is being debated daily, from everyday conversation to the national and international press. At the same time, its theatre is resurgent, with key Scottish playwrights, theatres and theatre companies expanding their performance vocabularies while coming to prominence in national and international contexts. Caledoniais a tale of hubris and delusion, portraying a crucial slice of Scotlands history and its foray into imperial colonialism told with dark humour and creative flair, by awardwinning playwright and satirist Alistair Beaton. Bullet Catch, by Rob Drummond, is a unique theatrical experience exploring the world of magic, featuring mindreading, levitation, and the most notorious finale in show business. Morna Pearsons The Artist Man and the Mother Woman is a wickedly funny, deceptively simple, surreal portrait of a spectacularly dysfunctional relationship. Rantin, by Kieran Hurley draws on storytelling, live music and an unapologetically haphazard take on Scottish folk tradition, in an attempt to stitch together fragmented stories to reveal a botched patchwork of a nation. First performed at the Royal Court in 2013, Narrativeby Anthony Neilson is a theatrical exploration of the the boundaries... | Alistair Beaton Contemporary Scottish Plays Caledonia; Bullet Catch; The Artist