THEATRE REVIEW: Mairi Campbell: Auld Lang Syne

With its poignant meditation on what the excellent Mairi Campbell calls “time, distance, transition” – the passage of time, the passing of loved ones and the passes which passed unrequited – Auld Lang Syne, additional verses and a new tune to which were added by Burns after hearing an old man singing in a Dumfries pub, never fails to move me. As I’m sure it does many people, particularly when sung (or heard on TV) at New Year.

Complimented by Claire Lamond’s ghost-like animations of white against black which emerge from the void like the skull, ribs and hips from Edwin Morgan’s poem Skeleton Day “like a caravan / Bound for who knows where” and bolstered by Campbell and fellow composer Dave Gray’s atmospheric soundscape – one moment a Trainspotting trip from Bangalore to Benbecula, the next a beating pulse, a gasp of breath, a humongous howl to the heavens – Campbell’s follow-up to the critically-acclaimed Pulse is equally moving. Not to mention delightfully funny and sweet.

Weaving together the twin strands of a childhood friendship with a free-spirited gypsy with whom she “run about the braes, / And pou’d the gowans fine” (not to mention broke family worship with a fart-off) and the birth of a new relationship with a sweet guitarist who over time the “seas between us braid hae roar’d”, Campbell stitches in the answers to our questions about the song’s rich tapestry. The most important of which are: What does it actually mean? And why has it stood the test of time?

Reminiscences about her own colourful career as a celebrated folk singer and musician who at times feels choked by the noose of tradition pepper proceedings. The hysterical highlight being her performance of Auld Lang Syne at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. in honour of fellow Scot Sean Connery. The hysterics provoked by a wonderful slow-motion dissolve as she dried mid-song. Thankfully, her Edinburgh Fringe performance will be remembered for all the right reasons and like auld acquaintances won’t be forgotten.

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Peter Callaghan

Writer at reviewsphere

Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Dramatic Studies graduate, actor, writer and drama workshop leader. As well as a performance poet and corporate roleplayer.

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