First produced in 2005 and dealing with friction between the British government, the Scottish local government and the Catholic church, I wasn't entirely sure what to expect. Politics and organised religion are things I've tended to actively avoid. Aside from not knowing a lot about the context however, I was a little surprised to find myself drawn into the action and intreague. There is some writing in dialect, but only from a couple of the characters, so there's some variety. That actually helps to keep the characters straight in my head while reading, since it makes the change of voice a little more obvious. As usual it'd be different seen on stage, and as to that there's a good balance of directions.
It being a fairly recent piece of writing there is plenty there that is still relevant today - some of it perhaps more so now than when it was written, like the reference to legalising gay marriage, something which has just in the last few months been promised and gone through. There are some direct references to church-related scandals which date the play a little more closely. The main story though, the framing of various politicians through a combination of technology, slander and trickery is one which is pretty daring. I'm not entirely sure how based in fact any of the proceedings of the story are - it's an adaptation of a novel so I would assume not much, but the use of real and recognisable names for at least some of the references (Salmond is named at one point, in passing) makes me wonder if at least some of the story is based on real events.
The way all the elements of the story come together - several lines of somewhat convoluted action leading to a final big reveal, murders, relationship issues, the layout reminds me a little bit of a modernised Shakespeare play. The variety of voice adds to the effect. It's certainly not poetry, nor a timeless story, so I'm not drawing a complete parallel, but I stand by the observation.
No comments:
Post a Comment