Knives in Hens

David Harrower’s debut play, Knives in Hens returns to the Traverse after 16 years with Lies Pauwels’ vibrant new production, which delves into the intertwined issues of sex, longing and the limitations of gender in pre-industrial revolution Scotland.

Set in rural Scotland, the play presents a love triangle between the ploughman (Duncan Anderson), his wife (Susan Vidler) and the outcast miller (Owen Whitelaw). But a series of miscommunications, secrets and lies concerning the miller’s prized mare (Vicki Manderson) and leads to a sudden and dark conclusion.

Pauwels’ production, while seemingly set in the vast wilderness of the Scottish landscape, has been moved into a colourful, surreal and unusual world that’s very similar to a circus. But the play’s staging, designed by Chloe Lamford, while unexpected, acts as an ideal performance space for Harrower’s evocative and poetic language, because it lets the characters express themselves in both a physical and emotional way.

The look of the play is at first unsettling, and when coupled with Harrower’s initially confusing dialogue this particular production can seem a little bewildering, but Harrower’s intricate story grows and develops as the play continues. Underneath all the poetry, the message that lies at the core of Harrower’s text is one of sex, desire and the rejection of traditional gender roles through education. While Pauwels’ production many not be the original setting for the play, her take on this modern Scottish classic reveals that there is so much that can still be taken from Harrower’s original script. [Amy Taylor]