Tales from the Towpath
The Lochrin Belle, May 23 2024
Citadel Arts Group
Mark Kydd director, Liz Hare producer
Ashley Barlow, Jim Bryce, Leo MacNeill, Deborah Whyte, actors
The thirty audience members assembling at the Fountainbridge Canal Basin alongside the large purple barge, ‘Lochrin Belle’ are breathing a sigh of relief that the weather is, for the moment, dry. Meanwhile cast members and crew are pretty chuffed that the show went on yesterday without a hitch in torrential rain.
A lovers’ tiff has broken out in front of us between an older couple who’ve been dating for two weeks. Annie seems keen and Colin’s even keener, but she’s just discovered he lives on a barge and she’s frightened of water. Rhona McAdam’s ‘Date on a Barge’ is a modern canal story which begins and ends ‘Tales from the Towpath.’ After Annie dons her life-jacket, we follow her and Colin onto the barge, where seats on either side of the cabin provide a traverse acting space.
The play in six scenes, written by members of the Citadel Arts Group, with input from Research Assistant, Elaine Campbell, provides glimpses into the history of the Canal, from its construction in the early 19th century through to industrial and leisure uses in the 20th century. Hugh Baird, the workaholic engineer of the Canal from 1815 and his wife Margaret are at the centre of John Lamb’s ‘The Union Canal.’ The presence of John-Angus, a navvy from Cromarty, reminds us of the dangerous lives of the many manual workers, especially in the construction of viaducts and tunnels. ‘Fingal O’Flaherty’ by Jim Brown, set a few years later, features a fictitious Irish navvy, one among many anxious to escape arrest for seditious activities back home. The diversion of the canal through a tunnel to prevent Sir William Forbes’ estate at Callendar Park from ‘being overlooked’, provided extra, albeit hazardous, jobs.
Two bargeman head purposefully out on deck to deal with an obstruction in the canal at the start of William Haddow’s ‘The Monument.’ They haul out a corpse – the elegantly dressed dummy fitting neatly between the two rows of seating. The ghost of George Meikle Kemp appears. A joiner from Biggar, with an interest in cathedrals, sparked by his study of Borders Abbeys, he was the unlikely winner of the competition to design the Scott Monument, but died in a mysterious drowning accident just before it was completed in 1844.
The ‘Lochrin Belle’ has reached Harrison Park, and we’re offered umbrellas as we disembark onto the towpath in the rain, avoiding bikes and curious walkers, to watch an intriguing piece of 20th century history. ‘Unguarded’ by Hilary Spiers is set in 1944 in the rubber factory at Fountainbridge which changed its production patterns to provide wartime equipment such as gas masks and barrage-balloon fabric. Mary Hardie, a young worker, lost her arm after her hand was caught in a machine, and we see her friend, Laura, tell Factory Inspector Gladys Mitchell about the accident. Her decision to prosecute the company resulted in a case which still informs industrial law.
Water sports, as we see on our travels, have always been popular on the canal, although rowing remained a male-dominated activity until well into the twentieth century. Rhona McAdam’s ‘Rowing’ demonstrates a neat counter-blow for feminism and the working-class against the establishment!
With agile costume changes, four professional actors take on all the roles in these scenes. Edinburgh-based Ashley Barlow is equally at home in dungarees as a corpse-hauling bargeman as she is in 1940s factory clothes in her harrowing account of the industrial accident and her 1980s miniskirt. Experienced actor Jim Bryce recreates the tragic figures of engineer, Hugh Baird, and George Kemp, the designer of the Scott Monument, while also delighting in his comic roles as Hugh Perry-Douglas, bastion of the Rowing Club and Colin, the ardent suitor – resplendent in his last scene in kilt-and-sporran embellished apron! Promising recent Newcastle graduate, Leo MacNeill, has a striking stage presence, and shows a good ear for Highland and Irish accents in his roles as the two navvies, while his stripey-blazered Andrew is a convincing younger member of the Rowing Club elite. Deborah Whyte, a sympathetic wife to Hugh Baird, excels as the astute Factory Inspector Gladys Mitchell. Her comic gifts are on show as the Jenners’ manager in ‘Rowing’ and as the object of Colin’s affections.
Shortly before we return to the Canal Basin, ‘Date on a Barge’ reaches a satisfactory conclusion for Annie and Colin! There’s general agreement that our afternoon on the ‘Lochrin Belle’ has been thoroughly enjoyable. Liz Hare, Artistic Director of Citadel Arts Group, has said that the play on the barge is a wonderful addition to their site-specific performances mostly in and around Leith over the years. However, as a venue the barge presents challenges to the stage crew, and Roddy Simpson, Sound Design, Maggie Brown, Stage Manager, Stewart Emm, Props and Technical Assistance, and Susan Chaney, Costumes, have worked wonders to realise director Mark Kydd’s ideas.
Music, during and between scenes, has been an integral part of the performance. Research by Stan Reeves uncovered a number of traditional canal songs, from which Mark chose a selection. The cast’s fine voices, particularly those of Jim Brice and Leo McNeill, bring fresh life to these little-known works.
The National Lottery Community Fund and Fountainbridge Canalside Community Trust helped fund the free tickets and excellent programmes. There are two further performances of the play on dry land at Edinburgh Printmakers on Dundee Street on 9th and 16th June at 2pm. Tickets are going fast! Phone James on 07954296568 to reserve yours.
