The Maggie Wall @ Pitlochry Festival Theatre
Blythe Jandoo is consistently compelling in The Maggie Wall, a new monologue which tells the story of a woman burned at the stake in Perthshire in the 1600s
The “true, surprising evil” of Europe’s bloody witch hunting history has long been a source of fascination for artists, writers, and audiences. Continuing in this tradition, the new Studio space at Pitlochry Festival Theatre hosts the premiere of The Maggie Wall, a new play by Scottish playwright Martin McCormick. Blythe Jandoo stars in the one-woman show as the eponymous Maggie Wall, a mysterious woman whose burning at the stake in 1657 is commemorated by a monument in Dunning, Perthshire.
The spartan set (consisting of a square of floorboards and a backdrop) works well with the vaguely warehouse-like exposed brick aesthetic of the studio. The costume is similarly simple, to the point of being a little distracting in such an intimate space. Director Amy Liptrott, who also designed the set and costume, has created a monumental challenge for her actor in placing a full-length monologue in this empty space with no props and minimalist technical design by Matthew Tomlinson (sound) and Adam Bowers (lighting). Jandoo rises to the task impressively, needing no such supports to maintain the attention of her audience. In the lighter-toned first half, she displays a particular knack for moments of wry humour, and she frequently has the crowd laughing.
While Jandoo’s performance is consistently compelling, the second half of the script begins to struggle with the challenges inherent in portraying violence, trauma, and bodily destruction in live performance. This is a particular challenge to manage for a single actor, who must necessarily maintain a degree of clarity and expressiveness even when portraying experiences that are essentially unspeakable. Towards the end of the play, Maggie’s lines sometimes shift from the words of a single character to explicitly articulating the play’s central questions; the audience could be trusted to follow these conclusions through with a little less help. Nevertheless, The Maggie Wall is overall compelling and hard-hitting, with multiple audience members leaving with tears in their eyes.
The Maggie Wall, Pitlochry Festival Theatre, until 29 Sep
pitlochryfestivaltheatre.com/whats-on/the-maggie-wall/