The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
A-Z of Dundee
Dundee Rep Theatre, October 2 to 12
Fresh from a spring tour of the community halls of Dundee and Angus, A-Z of Dundee lands on Dundee Rep’s own theatre stage this month as part of an 80th anniversary season to which it’s perfectly suited.
With a piece of informal gig theatre in the best touring variety tradition, the Dundee Rep Ensemble – who are this year celebrating their 20th anniversary alongside the 80th birthday of the theatre itself – have put together a secret history of the city in song and storytelling, which intentionally strays off the well-beaten path of jute, jam and journalism.
“The ensemble workshopped the play earlier this year, when we were performing All My Sons in the evening,” says Ewan Donald, an actor with the Rep who was given the opportunity to make his directorial debut on this show by the theatre’s artistic director Andrew Panton.
“The co-writers John and Gerry Kielty joined us, and we went through stories which we thought would be interesting.
“These were stories which were less told. We threw them all in, did some improvisation and narrowed it down. We wanted to make it fun and accessible, like a musical comedy – the inspiration behind it was really the Reduced Shakespeare Company, who condense all of Shakespeare’s plays into an hour and a half. That idea came from John – it’s quite an anarchic way of telling a story.”
The styles used vary, from comedy song to dramatic vignettes, and the stories range from Captain Kidd’s connection with Dundee, to the rumour that Jack the Ripper escaped from London to live out his final years there, to the six sackings of Dundee over the ages, as told in the format of a boxing match. There is also, perhaps not so surprisingly, a poignant segment on William Mcgonagall.
“We wanted to represent the city and its people in different ways, and we wanted to give it heart, as well,” says Donald. “It isn’t just a madcap caper, we really wanted to pack in as much as we could. The reaction when we took it out on tour was great, and it’s exciting getting the chance to do it again.”
He says that, for anyone who saw the version which was staged in spring, they’ll see a slightly different version here.
“We’ve added a few bits, taken away a few others. Getting to do something again like this is great, because you don’t really know what works and what doesn’t until you get an audience. Thankfully, we’re getting the chance to go through rehearsals all over again, this time with our two new graduate cast members.”
Coming off the back of the critically acclaimed Tay Bridge, and with Oor Wullie coming up at Christmas, the Dundonian flavour of the Rep’s autumn season will be enhanced by a show which might even tell many Dundonians a thing or two about the city in which they live.