Hats off to Alisdair Gray

Published on Thursday 8 July 2010 19:08

There can be no question about whether an up-coming Edinburgh production of the political satire McGrotty And Ludmilla has the support of its creator, cherished Scottish writer and artist Alisdair Gray.

The Glasgow-based playwright invited the cast from the Holyrood Amateur Theatrical Society, along with director Gregor Shanks, into his home for a private reading when they choose it for their next production. Loosely based on the story of Aladdin, and originally penned as a radio play, the piece follows the adventures of Scot, Mungo McGrotty, as he mingles with the civil service mandarins of Thatcher's Whitehall.

His career is slowly going nowhere until he finds himself seduced into a plot to steal the mysterious, and deadly, Harbinger Report.

However, will he be able to beat the villainous Sir Arthur Shots and win the heart of the ruthlessly posh Ludmilla in the process?

Shanks reveals that Gray has a reputation for being accessible to those in the theatrical community, so it did not come as a complete surprise when he agreed to help the group prepare for the play

"But I didn't expect him to give us so much support as he offered us," he admits.

"The playwright George Bernard Shaw used to read parts to the cast, apparently, and when I suggested that Gray might do the same for us he was all for it.

"He read through the whole play and is quite a character to listen to. He put on a different voice for each of the characters. He even did the artwork for our posters - he's certainly not typical of most playwrights."

Shanks believes that while Gray understands it is important for the actors to find the parts themselves, it is also useful for the lead characters to hear his interpretation of the story, so they have something to refer back to.

"The play hasn't been performed since the 1980s, so it's a rare production," he says. "It's been described as a political pantomime, and as some members of our society work for the Scottish Parliament, I think Alisdair quite liked the idea of them doing a political satire."

This will be the second production Shanks has directed for HATS, which was formed in 2005.

"I'm hoping for an enthusiastic response to McGrotty And Ludmilla, which is as funny, biting and relevant today as it was when first penned in the mid-70s."

McGrotty and Ludmilla, Roxy Art House, Roxburgh Place, 22-24 July, 7.30, 7, 0131-629 0039