Review: THROUGH THE SHORTBREAD TIN, Tron Theatre

Through The Shortbread Tin is a new piece of theatre written by Martin O'Connor, directed by Lu Kemp and presented by The National Theatre of Scotland.

Martin O'Connor is taking a look at Scottish culture. Do thistles, kilts and pictures of stags really define who we are as a nation? At the top of the show, we're asked if we know who James Macpherson is. A 17th-century poet who is credited with one of the greatest literary hoaxes of all time.

O'Connor blends his own story with his understanding of Scottish culture. His grandfather was a fluent Gaelic speaker, and Martin was not, which led to severe barriers in communication. The narrative goes back and forth between Scottish history and his own personal history. A clever set-piece doubles as a fire pit and then a 1980s-style two-bar fire to signify the change in time.

The delivery is informal and poetic but the repetition quickly starts to grate. The story is also punctuated with Gaelic singers as O'Connor tries to figure out his feelings about his island roots. Special mention must go to Catherine King who is the BSL interpreter for the performance, adding yet another language to proceedings along with Scots and Gaelic. 

It's a long 80 minutes as this piece of theatre attempts to define Scottish culture away from all the tourist tat and intertwine it with a personal story but it just doesn't quite succeed. 

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