You may have heard that all showings of the National Theatre of Scotland presents The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart are sold out, and the only opportunity is to get on the waiting list. From what I saw on Wednesday night, I would wholeheartedly encourage you to do that thing. (ProTip: click the W)
There is a lot of fuss and hand-wringing and focus groups and bluster about what kind of theatre will appeal to a younger crowd – and while I don’t qualify as “young”, my age is still about half the median of a typical C-U theatre audience – but I think these Scots may have found the formula.
Plays that are targeted to draw a younger audience in can overshoot many ways; most commonly they either go too “now” and force cultural references, or they go too “experimental” and leave everyone confused and disturbed. But younger doesn’t mean undereducated, or with a shorter attention span, or unwilling to face history. Prudencia does us all a favor by acknowledging that Millennials are mostly overeducated, making the protagonist a young academic who knows her roots back to the 13th century, and appreciates a good cataloging system. But it also speaks a language permeated with apps and pop stars, it nods to modern etiquette (and lack thereof), Tweets and football (soccer) chants, without seeming to pander. It talks like we do. But in meter.
From the first moment — when a pleasant woman stopped us at the door and actually watched us turn off our cellphones — I was impressed. As we chose a seat near the front, the players began picking up various instruments and playing a mixture of traditional tunes and improvisation. The actors would drop in and out of the songs, some visiting tables and chatting. There was a moment of quiet and with no announcement and hardly any audience interruption, a woman began singing an air (“Two Crows” or “Twa Corbies”) and the play began.
There’s not much else I can tell you about the plot without spoiling, but I really don’t need to. It only took two sentences to hear that this play about an expert in Border Ballads was going to be, itself, a Border Ballad. Not sung, but definitely metered and rhyming. Yet it also featured slow-motion application of lipstick in time to a battle tattoo beaten on a bodhran. Actors slipped in and out of coats that had been stashed on chairs throughout the room and climbed on tables whether occupied or not. By turn hilarious and haunting, bawdy and mesmerizing, this production combined a timeless plot, a traditional delivery system and all the best features of modern theatre to create a singular experience that was thoroughly enjoyable.
For me. Maybe not for my introverted companion who wasn’t thrilled about being asked to join in a football (soccer) chant while an actor danced on a table in just his boxers and a motorcycle helmet. Still, even she admits she was glad she went and had overall, a good time.
So the inclement weather may be a blessing in disguise for theatregoers willing to brave the elements. Wednesday’s performance was just over half full, so I know there were over a dozen released tickets. I imagine that many people will prefer to stay in, so try your luck, maybe you will get to see a good, modern, play.
