Once more unto the breach… I wonder if the Dundee Repertory Theatre offers a loyalty scheme?

Two nights at the theatre in one week, two young women from the eastern coast of Scotland telling their personal stories in ways that only they can. While And is intimate and minimalist, Ane City is loud and luscious. Though I wonder if both had attended each other’s performances if they might not have spotted a kinship.

Ane City is a coming of age story set against a backdrop of the hometown that protagonist Tay (Taylor Dyson) has so desperately tried to escape. Tay confronts her family, friends, and past - and a local taxi driver - through monologue, poetry, and song. With cameo appearances from poetic royalty and royal royalty.

Her feelings are complex, much like her Dundee home - simultaneously infamous for the depravation-driven high rates of teenage pregnancy and drug deaths, and yet appearing in Lonely Planet’s Best in Europe top 10 places to visit in 2018 with significant recent inward investment from the likes of the V&A and Eden Project. Seemingly contradictory sides of ane city.

Verdict?

Gloriously funny. Bluntly introspective. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

More info: Ane City by Elfie Picket Theatre

It’s been too long. It’s funny what a global pandemic does to your idea of spending time in a public theatre - even one as perfectly formed as the Dundee Rep.

If you get a chance to witness And in person, I urge you do so. I certainly plan to return. Which is fine, because the now 28 year old Charlotte plans to perform this show for the rest of her life - each time revised to reflect her greater experience.

But what is it?

A solo contemporary dance show? Performance poetry? A living memoir? Charlotte’s own web page for the work describes it so:

And is an auto-biographical performance about growing up as a woman, and explores culture, identity, nationality and politics.

In the spirit of all performance living in the space between performer and audience, I would add that’s it’s a reflection of the individual impact of a turbulent world on the idea of self, joy, responsibility, and guilt.

It’s deeply personal performance story-telling.

Verdict?

Both fierce and gentle, cutting and comedic, And is an emotional and poignant story of a young woman and womanhood - generationally tied to mothers past and yet cautiously optimistic about future children.

A perfect show for a rainy Wednesday. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

More info: And by Charlotte Mclean