The Village and The Road
We had a lovely time being part of the Made in Scotland showcase during Edinburgh Fringe 2022, at the Scottish Storytelling Centre, every day from 17th to 29th August.
Here are links to a sample of the reviews:
https://snackmag.co.uk/theatre-review-the-village-and-the-road
The Village and The Road was delighted to have been invited to perform at the Bird Theatre Festival in Shikano, Tottori, Japan, in September 2023. See our Japan page for more information about this trip.
This was partly funded by Creative Scotland, for which we are very grateful.
Photo credit Kim Ayres
The Village and The Road is a new work of theatre combining the musical talents of the Galloway Agreement and a depth of oral history collected by Tom Pow, and dramatic vision of Matthew Zajac. It uses lived experience and deep understanding of musical and oral history to create a voice for rural communities that speaks strongly of modern times.
Matthew Zajac (director): “The response from our audiences has been quite overwhelming. The Village & The Road is something special.”
Audience responses:
“ Just a quick message to say how very much I enjoyed the performance this evening. You are all amazing. It had me quite weepy in parts and others were very lighthearted, a wonderful representation of life.”
“Please share with the Galloway Agreement, and the wonderful Tom, our stunned admiration of the show. It was wonderfully intense, moving and passionate and a really amazing performance. My concentration span is usually a bit limited but tonight I was totally gripped throughout. The way your music reflected Tom's words was brilliant, and the whole performance moved so well together.”
“Thank you to all of you - I wish we weren't away next weekend so we could come again!”
“The concert this evening was excellent. Very topical in the light of the crisis in Afghanistan and the continuing situation with immigrants trying to get across the channel. In fact the gig was thought-provoking particularly in the opening section. It could almost have been written in the last 24hrs. Well done.”
The Village and The Road is an invitation to experience a world of great beauty, but also one that carries the very contemporary imprints of separation, emigration and rootlessness.
The show is a portrait of the tensions that exist between the village and the road at this time of crucial change; a time 'when the village girls have no eyes/for the village boys'.
Inspired by ‘the great thinning’, a term coined by environmental journalist Michael McCarthy, to describe the loss of so many of the birds which once delighted visitors to the British countryside. The Village and The Road is a response to another 'great thinning': for the first time in human history there are more people living in cities than in the countryside. Many, especially the young, are taking the road out of their villages, often facing hardship and danger as they do so.
A collaboration of words from celebrated writer Tom Pow, combined with music from The Galloway Agreement, a quartet of well-known traditional musicians: Wendy Stewart (harp, voice), Ruth Morris (nyckelharpa), Gavin Marwick (fiddle) and Stuart Macpherson (double bass). Tom Pow draws on his travels to create the narrative, and The Galloway Agreement respond with their wide experiences of the musical traditions of Europe. Their musical talents and sensitivities enlarge the emotional landscape and add drama and poignancy to the narrative.
This new production explores the dramatic potential of the piece with direction by Matthew Zajac (Dogstar Theatre, Tailor of Inverness) and lighting design by Andrew Wilson.
Original script by Tom Pow
Original live score by The Galloway Agreement
Direction by Matthew Zajac
Lighting design and photos by Andrew Wilson
Sound Design by Stuart Macpherson
Digital assets by Emma Dove
Produced by Ruth Morris with support from Peter Renwick
Photo credit Andrew Wilson