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TRAVERSE AT 50 Clockwise from main pic: Simon Stephen’s Pornography from 2008; Scottish theatremaker Kieran Hurley (inset); Robbie Coltrane in Slab Boys, 1978; Animals, 1979.
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Harrower (Knives in Hens), Gregory Burke (Black Watch), and David Greig (The Cosmonaut’s Last Message to the Woman He Once Loved in the Former Soviet Union). There is, of course, the small matter of the Fringe itself. The Traverse is at its heart; its annual programme being the first point of call for serious festival-goers. The Traverse’s proximity to the flood of work on its doorstep each August has allowed it to cherry-pick some of the best emerging talent around: Scottish writer- performer Kieran Hurley and recent Olivier award nominee Caroline Horton being the latest examples. Nor is its programme confined to new writing. Belgian provocateurs Ontroerend Goed and American experimentalists The Team have both been Traverse mainstays in recent years.
That said, the Traverse can claim some of the most legendary plays to come out of the Fringe: Anthony Neilson’s haunting three-hander
16 THE LIST 16 May–13 Jun 2013
Penetrator landed in 1993, Tracy Letts’ Killer Joe came a year later, followed by Sarah Kane’s Crave in 1998. A very young Cillian Murphy starred in Disco Pigs which made Enda Walsh’s name and, more recently, Simon Stephens’ Pornography – fast becoming a modern classic – courted controversy in 2008 with its focus on the 7/7 bombings. Such rich, fierce and exhilarating plays as these gave the Traverse its reputation; one that arguably played a part in the decision to have a roaming National Theatre of Scotland. With Orla O’Loughlin at the helm and a programme of 50 short plays to mark its half-century, the Traverse will doubtless produce many more.
Traverse Theatre celebrates its 50th birthday on Sun 9 Jun alongside the Critics’ Awards for Theatre in Scotland. Find out more at traverse.co.uk
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5 NAMES TO WATCH . . .
When the Trav called out for new playwrights to become part of the Traverse 50, they received over six hundred applications. Staging fifty short plays by way of an introduction to the winners, they selected writers from across Scotland and beyond – including artists based in Australia and Europe – for a year-long mentoring programme. Here are 5 names we think are worth keeping an eye out for
SYLVIA DOW proves that new writers don’t have to be youngsters: her first play was produced after her retirement. Her entry for The Traverse Fifty, a monologue, was praised for its ‘structural grace’ and examines the case of a man involved in a murder. MICHAEL O’NEILL’s enthusiasm for site responsive, personal yet politically aware work has seen him stage productions at Mayfesto and Arches Live! His entry concerns two men who agree to marry, pending changes in the law. He notes that the Traverse 50 offers ‘the chance to become part of a community.’
KRIS HADDOW is already a successful Scots poet but observes that ‘having the opportunity to workshop with established playwrights in a safe environment really appealed to me.’ Best Seat in Town sees a woman and boy overcome by a surprising event before mundane banality claims them. DREW TAYLOR is a live poet and alternative performance trickster: recently he played Klaus Nomi in Do You Nomi? and collaborated with Glasgow beat-box maestro Big Tajj for Breakin’ Convention’s Open Art Surgery. His piece was personal: ‘it was about a violent experience,’ he says. ‘A guy tried to attack me with a metal pole.’
MOLLY INNES is known as an actor: this project has encouraged artists to develop their creativity beyond their expected role. Innes has appeared in some of Scotland’s most successful TV series and films – including Taking Over the Asylum and Red Road – before taking the challenge of writing a script. (Gareth K Vile) ■ The Traverse 50 culminates in a new writing festival scheduled for this autumn.