The third part of a trilogy which began with The Pitiless Storm in 2014, Time’s Plague is about Bob Cunninghame, an everyman figure from the west of Scotland.
He’s played by the esteemed veteran actor David Hayman and co-created with him by writer Chris Dolan.
Working class men
“Chris and I are both west of Scotland working class men,” says Hayman. “We’re both ‘schemies’, and when you’re born like that you get stamped Labour on your arse at birth, you’d never dream of voting Tory or Lib Dems or SNP or anything else.
“We thought we’d portray a working class man, a trade unionist and a very committed Unionist, who on the eve of the referendum was about to be awarded an OBE.
“The first half of The Pitiless Storm was about him rehearsing his acceptance speech, then he goes through a crisis of conscience and decides to reject his OBE and go for independence. The second play took him further, concentrating more on his personal life.”
Under NHS care
In this play, Bob is in hospital for a major operation under the care of the NHS.
“He’s a gnarled old geezer, he rages at the dying of the light,” says Hayman. “He talks about the ice caps melting, the forests on fire, the sea waters rising, the price of energy and everything else.
“At the same time, a lot of this is about the NHS and how wonderful they’ve been, how they’ve pulled us all through this terrible time.
“He’s stuck in his hospital room, but in his imagination he’s walking the West Highland Way.
“He takes us on a journey through Scotland which brings in the beauty of Scotland, parts of our history and culture, and how much he loves it, even as the land is changing due to climate change.
Acerbic black humour
“I sing a few songs, do a few daft dances, and it’s got Bob’s usual acerbic black humour, which he trains on everyone. He doesn’t miss and hit the wall.”
Debuted at this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe, at the Stand’s New Town Theatre, Time’s Plague is currently heading towards the end of a 40-date Scottish run, under the direction of Hayman’s son David Jr.
The actor met Dolan through radio work and documentaries they’ve completed together, and Hayman – who set up the humanitarian organisation Spirit Aid in 2001 – welcomes audiences of all political colours to stay and discuss the play afterwards.
“I’ve always had a firm belief that if you come to see a piece of theatre, when you leave the world should be a different place,” he says.
“Your values should be different, or at least challenged. Hopefully you begin to reappraise what you’ve taken for granted in your life.
“Yes, (the play is) challenging, but I hope people will leave with that challenge, to begin to question how they lead their lives, what their responsibilities are for the health of the planet, the health of the country, the health of our democracy.
Art, life and politics
“It sounds heavy, but it’s not. It does this in a very jocular, light-hearted, entertaining way, but audiences have found it powerful and moving.
“You can do that in theatre, but you can’t really do it in television and film so much these days, because theatre is fundamentally anarchic as an artform. It’s live, it’s happening before you.
“This is one of those rare occasions when art, life and politics all come together in one piece.”
Time’s Plague starring David Hayman is at Birnam Arts, Dunkeld, on Friday October 7. www.birnamarts.com, www.fairpley.com
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