Sunset Song is a lament to a lost time. It is the life story of Chris - the young daughter of a farmer - struggling to find her identity against a backdrop of bleak Scottish hillsides, hard farm labour, changing times, and the Great War (1914-1918).

Alistair Cording's stage version [of Lewis Grassic Gibbon (1901 - 1935)'s 1932 novel] spends too long trying to imply watching a moving story and not enough telling the story. It is clear the playwright gains pleasure in celebrating the lyrical nature of the language and feels the need to bring it into play. Instead of using the script as a vehicle to tell a strong story well, he includes great lumps of monologue at points in the plot where - frankly - there is not much to talk about. This is a real shame because, by the time the production's high point arrives - Chris's search for any hope in the sunset of her childhood - the dramatic monologues have lost their power to connect.

Another side-effect of this preponderance of language is that great events in the narrative of Chris's life are dealt with in a couple of lines, with almost no dramatic intent. The worst case is when Chris's mother murders her baby twins and poisons herself. This passes almost without comment. Hannah Donaldson (performing admirably as Chris) is forced to integrate this huge turning-point in Chris's life into about four words. Nothing of the depth of feeling can be conveyed and no compassion can really be felt. It's the stage equivalent of texting a friend to ask 'How are you after you mother's death? :-(.'

Costuming (Hayden Griffin, Carys Hobbs) is even and consistent with the period. Lighting (John Harris, Paul Reynolds) and sound (Grieg Dempster) cues are slick. Images projected onto a large screen at the back of the stage are fine-looking and at least incidentally related to the action on stage. The cast move about, successfully occupying almost all of the stage at one time and another; and the acting is - in the main - strong.

On the face of it, this production is a well-executed piece of popular theatre. The trouble is that the emotional force of Sunset Song should elicit tears. Chris's story on its own should pluck a heart-string or two. Hardships endured by farmers wringing their lives from the stubborn earth should tug a few more. The loss of a way of life in a shifting world should crack even the most curmudgeonly heart. And the grand finale - the death of an entire generation in the First World War - should have even the lighting-box in tears every single night.

Sunset Song is a professional production which is technically competent. But it is reasonable to expect more. By the end of the play, half of the chararacters are dead. The society they knew has disappeared. Innocence has been lost. So why does it feel as if nothing has changed?

Cast Credits: (alpha order): Duncan Anderson - Ewan Tavendale. Jimmy Chisholm - John Guthrie. Hannah Donaldson - Chris Guthrie. Janette Foggo - Jean Guthrie. Tom McGovern - Chae Strachan. Alan McHugh - Long Rob. Helen McKay - various. Cameron Mowat - Will Guthrie. Heather Nimmo - various. Ronnie Simon - Rev Gibbon.

Company Credits: Writer (of novel, 1932) - Lewis Grassic Gibbon (1901 - 1935). Writer (of adaptation) - Alister Cording. Director - Kenny Ireland. Designer - Hayden Griffin. Movement Director - Andrew Panton. Lighting Designer - John Harris. Sound Designer - Grieg Dempster. Musical Director - Paul Anderson. Keyboards and Vocals - Shona Anderson. Production Manager - Alan Campbell. Technical Manager - Chris Spikings. Wardrobe Manager - Carys Hobbs. Assistant Lighting Designer - Paul Reynolds. Assistant Stage Manager - Ewen Bruce. Assistant Stage Manager - Lynne Cowie. Assistant Stage Manager - Derek Anderson. Company Manager - Pauline Skidmore. Producer - uncredited. Company - Aberdeen Performing Arts. Website - www.boxofficeaberdeen.com.

END

(c) Stephen Redman 2010

reviewed August 2010 / Assembly @ George Street, Edinburgh UK

Fringe Report (c) Fringe Report 2002-2012

www.fringereport.com