Eve Miller
The Last Dinner Party meets Florence and the Machine meets a Scottish history lecture, Mary: A Gig Theatre Show is a joyful night of music from emerging, multi-talented theatre makers Knot Tied Theatre, in association with Emma Ruse Productions.
It tells the story of Mary, Queen of Scots, from her birth to her death, a life marked by martyrdom even while she was still alive. It focuses on her female friendships, with the other Marys who were her ladies in waiting, and her complex relationship with her cousin Elizabeth, who she never met.
It must be said that the gig aspect of this production is far stronger than the theatre aspect. The composition and musicianship is impeccable, creating a cohesive folky sound with lilting harmonies, thrumming bass, and beautiful fiddle weaving its way through the score. The actor-musicians work together seamlessly, the perfect ensemble (in both senses!).
However, some strange directorial decisions muddle the story, making the and while Rona Johnston’s vocal performance as Mary is astonishingly beautiful, her acting as narrator of the show becomes a little one-note, and could have been supported more fully with some small directorial tweaks. The writing, also by Johnston, is similarly unbalanced – the songs are genuinely impressive, artistic, intelligent, and catchy, and the monologue sections feel unclear, zipping past whole sections of Mary’s life and yet re-treading tired ground and seeming not to trust the audience to understand the sexism that Mary faced and why her treatment was unfair.
Phoebe Wiseman’s production design is a perfect blend of punk and folk influences, and nods to the Medieval Scottish roots of the story, with opulent rugs laid out across the stage, and flashes of tartan in each costume. This is a triumph of emerging Scottish theatre, and I can’t wait to see what Knot Tied Theatre and Emma Ruse Productions do next!
Fierce, feminist, and fantastically original, Mary: A Gig Theatre Show is a passion project that will make you care too – and have you down a Wikipedia rabbit hole on your way home!
Drink recommendation: Whisky!
You can catch Mary: A Gig Theatre Show at Other Yin at Gilded Balloon from 14th to 21th August at 21:00 (60 mins). Tickets are available through the EdFringe Online Box Office.
Jake Mace
Lamesha Ruddock
Jasmine Silk
