Common Tongue

Speaking in the native common tongue is becoming more and more popular with the younger generation as they battle to keep their national identity.

None more so than in Scotland, where Gaelic has become a real favourite. But what aboot imperfect Scots?

Fraser Scott’s one woman play “Common Tongue” digs deep into the impact of culture, identity and its intersections in Scottish life today.

I am always in awe of actors on stage on their own, remembering 75 minutes of lines and then relaying them with such powerful presence is no mean feat.

And Olivia Caw is that lady, keeping the audience at Cumbernauld Theatre spellbound with her gutsy performance, on a tartan clad stage designed by Mela Adela.

She’s lucky though as the play is so well written, it makes life a breeze for Olivia. The story features Bonnie as she travels through her Paisley school days, university and then a spell spent in America.

Influenced heavily by her papa, who she lives with, Bonnie becomes aware that her accent, which is neither Scots nor English, but her common tongue, inherited from her working class upbringing is looked upon differently depending who she is with.

With a liberal sprinkle of swearing and using tales of her upbringing, Bonnie wrestles with her accent, when she meets people outside her inner circle.

Does she change her accent for her boyfriend’s “posh” parents? And how does she convince her uni friends that she’s not as thick as her speech?

It’s an intriguing and at times, heavy going literal rant, but it shows the raw passion Bonnie has for her beloved country.

As she broadens her horizons, she becomes confused about her own status, on the one hand she is as proud as punch as she belts out Rabbie Burns poems and Auld Lang Syne, on the other, she feels separated from her old school chums and family.

It’s a real classic and all is down to the script and the explosive performance by Caw. Funded by Creative Scotland’s Open Fund for Individuals, it’s gritty, informative and full of passion and destined for more theatres in 2025.

For further information, please visit: www.jgproducing.com

Author Bio:

Rebecca Hay is an experienced travel writer and member of The British Guild of Travel Writers. Follow her adventures with her family on Twitter and Instagram @emojiadventurer and on Facebook via EmojiAdventurers2.

Photographs courtesy of Kris Kesiak