Fetch

Before you flee in fear of some sort of strange Scottish Punch and Judy, let me introduce Fetch : the first Fringe offering from the up-and-coming Twa Dugs Theatre Company. Formed in early 2011 by playwright Alan Gordon and director Melanie Jordan (Organic Theatre, Lyceum Youth Theatre), Twa Dugs aims to give rural Scotland “a voice in Scottish theatre”, presenting new works of physical theatre that audiences can really connect with – and where better to debut their firstborn than Scotland’s biggest celebration of the arts?

Originally devised as a scene for the Ignite competition run by Playwrights Studio Scotland and BBC Radio Scotland (where it reached the final eight), Fetch has evolved into an emotional exploration of the familial relationships and identities of Scottish men, and the extent to which our roots shape us as people. Set in Gordon’s native Castle Douglas, Fetch centres on two estranged brothers coming together by the grave of their dead dog. “The only problem,” explains Gordon, “is that they should be at their father’s funeral.”

Following the sudden death of their father, Douglas and Andrew must re-establish their severed connection. The brothers’ ineptitude in sharing their feelings – some may say, strikingly representative of Scottish male society as a whole – is both accentuated and ameliorated by the device that make the play unique; the puppet.

“Twa Dugs have worked closely with Fringe favourites, Tortoise in a Nutshell to develop an exciting style of object manipulation which brings Poppy (the family dog) to life in a series of flashbacks, showing how a dad’s inability to communicate slowly filtered down through the gene pool”. These snap-shots of the past are enhanced by “a brilliant new soundscape”, created by Jim Harbourn. Gordon is excited about his first foray into puppetry, and – without giving too much away - assures us that it’s not what we might expect.

So where does Burns come in? Gordon explains, “When the father and sons can’t find their own words, they communicate using the only ones they share – those of Rabbie Burns”. Those familiar with the Bard’s work may note that this is something of a theme for Twa Dugs as a company, and their name is by no means accidental: “It seemed a nice way of summing up the fact that Melanie and myself come from very different places aesthetically, but together we have established a strong working relationship”.

The embedding of the Burns-and-dugs motif in both company and play suggests a strong sense of commitment that can only be good for their inaugural production. Twa Dugs’ desire to “set the company apart from the beginning” influenced their choice of venue; Greenside was deemed to be perfect because it’s “different” and “away from the hustle and bustle”.

As the opening performance draws closer, Gordon couldn’t be more grateful to the venue and everyone else involved. He is confident that his work will speak to audiences, particularly in current times, as one of the brothers rather poignantly reflects, “I spent four years living in a bubble, working towards something that doesn’t exist."

But what happens after the Fringe? “We don’t think this is the end for Fetch,” says Gordon. "We afre hoping that this is just the beginning."