Review: Tales from the Towpath – Citadel Arts Group

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The most recent production from Leith’s Citadel Arts Group, Tales from the Towpath proved quite the event last month. Set within the renovated Mill which houses the Edinburgh Printmakers, this was a cleverly scribed and staged journey through local time and space. Anchored by the story of the Union Canal, 5 local playwrights conspired to tell tales of its construction and of the people who have relied upon it for work or play.

The concept was elegantly simple consisting of 5 short plays, bookended by Rhona McAdam’s Date on a Barge, a light comedy following Colin’s (Jim Bryce) waterborne pursuit of the aquaphobic Annie (Deborah Whyte), and set in the present day. Each vignette occupied a unique space in the rather vast interiors of the old mill, beginning on a staircase landing, and ending in the raised gallery suspended above the Printmakers’ well-curated gift shop.

The filling in this dramatic sandwich began with John Lamb’s well-conceived period piece following canal designer Hugh Baird’s (Bryce) troubled quest to complete it in the early 19th century. Once more paired with Whyte, this time as wife Margaret, the pair’s easy chemistry clearly transcends time periods. Representing the many labourers who built the canal, Leo MacNeil also put in a fine turn as John-Angus, a proud, if understandably embittered highland navvy. The use of a wide corridor, complete with many doors made for easy exits and entrances.

Jim Brown’s Fingal O’ Flaherty turned attentions to the Irish immigrants who populated the canal’s many work teams. A tragi-comedy of sorts, the titular Fingal (MacNeill), poet, charmer and man of many ambitions made Bryce’s foreman scratch his head, whilst Ashley Barlow’s Mary, the secretary, saw a lodger in need of digs. Tragedy at the Prospect Hill tunnel works, and law enforcement’s hunt for Irish dissidents, made a happy ending seem unlikely. But needs must when the devil drives…Tidy, funny, and a touch subversive, this was one of the stronger pieces in a worthy collection.

Removing the healthy-sized audience to the Printmakers’ cafe, matters took a turn for Edinburgh’s New Town. The connection to the Union Canal here was found in the mysterious death of Scott Monument designer George Meikle Kemp (Bryce). Writer William Haddow weaved a quasi-documentary, allowing Meikle to tell his story from beyond the grave, ably assisted by Barlow and Whyte who made a fine comic pairing as both the bargees who found him and the suits which commissioned his designs for the ‘Gothic Rocket’. Juggling comedy and untimely death is a tricky proposition, but Haddow’s text and some cheeky performances threaded the needle well.

The shift outdoors into the Printmakers’ surprisingly expansive courtyard marked a move into more socially aware drama. Hilary Spiers Unguarded took place upon the premises of the now-extinct North British Rubber Works – from which the Edinburgh Printmakers conjured their present home. A mill worker’s accident bringing a government inspector to town offered a dilemma to siblings Laura and Billy who relied on the company for work. With the First World War demanding everyone do their duty, the play deftly explored the worker’s obligations to each other, their families, and the nation. Whyte, Barlow and MacNeill wore their new hats with confidence and carried off this most serious of Towpath Tales with earnest conviction.

Before a return to Barge-based modern romance, McAdam offered Rowing, a comedy of manners set in the clubhouse of the venerable St Andrew Boat Club which calls the canal home to this day. Bringing matters into the 1980s, McAdam imagined the discussions which led to the first women being admitted to the club – quite the anathema to curmudgeonly Hugh Perry-Douglas played with crusty joy by Bryce. Think of a classic episode of Midsommer Murders without the murder, and you won’t be far from the tone or charm of this particular piece.

The conclusion of McAdam’s jovial Date on a Barge came with a final, cheerful rendition of Robin Laing’s The Union Canal and a well-deserved, enthusiastic round of applause.

As community theatre goes, it doesn’t come much better, or more original than Tales from the Towpath. Collectively greater than the sum of their parts, and each cleanly directed by Mark Kydd, the ambition of this anthology was equalled by its success. That’s no mean feat, and though the professionalism of the director and the actors assembled certainly helped, the quality of writing belied the predominantly amateur status of the Citadel Arts Group playwrights.

A very honourable mention is additionally demanded for the redoubtable Roddy Simpson’s sound design, conjured live from a mobile phone and a mobile speaker. Music might not make a play, but such skilful, unobtrusive use of melody contributed hugely to the atmosphere.

Informative, entertaining, and displaying an admirable use of place, it’s a hard model of theatre to pull off, and sensational when done well – as it was here. Such location-specific work is also best handled by community theatre groups. I was lucky enough to be a kid in Dundee when Witch’s Blood was staged throughout the city in 1987. Tales from the Towpath might be on a smaller scale (as are most productions of anything staged anywhere in the world), but it shares in the same inimitable love of place and the power that brings. Viva the Citadel Arts Group, viva community theatre!

Featured Image: provided by Citadel Arts Group

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For more on the continuing work of the Citadel Arts Group, click here.

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