As battle rages over the iconic 1851 Landseer painting, a different take on the Monarch of the Glen arrives onstage, courtesy of IASH / Traverse Theatre Creative Fellow Peter Arnott. Peter's new play opened at Pitlochry Festival Theatre on 26 October, and runs until 12 November.
This autumn, join American millionaire Chester Royde, his new bride, Carrie, and his sister, Myrtle, as they travel to the Highlands to explore Carrie's Scottish ancestry – with a little help from Carrie's prized copy of 'Gaelic Without Tears' . . .
While the Roydes are very much creatures of the 20th century, their hosts still cling to the old ways: Donald MacDonald of Ben Nevis, the 23rd clan chieftain and Laird of Glenbogle Castle, is fiercely protective of his way of life, the land that he loves and the Macdonald spirit. Being more than a little cash-strapped, however, Ben Nevis (as he is also known) is not above trying to forge a match between heiress Myrtle and one of his brawny sons.
But when a group of English hikers turn up and trample all over his grouse moor, and a trespassing nationalist poet seems set to capture Myrtle's affections, Ben Nevis' plans come under attack on two fronts – and he's never one to underreact when things don't go his way . . .
Joyce McMillan of the Scotsman describes the play as a "brilliant satire on Scotland’s complicated relationship with its own cliches", while Neil Cooper of the Herald calls it "a deceptively feel-good take on self-determination and power."
A short interview about the play with John Durnin, Artistic Director of Pitlochry Festival Theatre, can be viewed here.