The debut play by Gregory Burke who wrote the worldwide smash hit Black Watch is to be performed in the author’s home town for the first time, before going on tour nationwide. Jack McKeown looks at the edgy, Fife-set comedy-thriller Gagarin Way.
“Workers are not powerful these days, not at all,” Michael says. “Fifty or 60 years ago, being a worker meant something.
“If you went on strike there was a chance it could bring down the government. Now the power of the unions has been diminished and being a worker doesn’t mean what it once did.”
Michael drew on socialist ideals himself when dusting off the original version of Gagarin Way and overlaying his vision on it.
“I left most of it untouched, just changing a few lines here and there. The main change I made was on the emphasis of the characters.
“In the original version Eddie was the central character but, going back over it, it seemed to me that all four characters were equally fascinating, so I’ve changed the emphasis and given them all roughly equal standing.”
The current version stars Dave Anderson (City Lights and Gregory’s Girl) and veteran stage actors Jimmy Chisholm, Finn Den Hertog and Jordan Young.
When Gagarin Way first played at Dundee Rep in 2002 some were taken aback by its earthy language, with one appalled theatre-goer being moved to write to The Courier – although their letter was met with quick riposte from many who enjoyed the show.
“I’ll be interested to see how it goes down somewhere like Perth, where the people are more conservative with a small c,” Michael reckons.
“There are a lot of twists and turns in the plot and it contains a lot of humour that is not very politically correct – but I make no apologies for the swearing because that’s how it is.
“The people who work in the factories of west Fife do use the words as a kind of verbal garnish.”The Gagarin Way tour takes it to: The Carnegie Hall in Dunfermline on Thursday, February 17 at 7.30pm. Tickets cost £8/£6. Phone 01383 602302 or visit www.attfife.org.uk Perth Theatre on Friday and Saturday, March 4 and 5 at 7.45pm. Tickets cost £14.50/ £12.50/£10. Phone 01738 621 031 or visit www.horsecross.co.uk The Byre Theatre in St Andrews on Saturday, March 12 at 7.30pm. Tickets cost £15/£13/£8. Phone 01334 475 000 or visit www.byretheatre.comGagarin Way was the breakthrough play by Gregory Burke. Born in Dunfermline, Gregory grew up in Gibraltar, returning to his home town when he was 16. Gagarin Way is inspired by his time working on production lines in Fife factories.
He says, “I am very happy that Gagarin Way is touring again with such a talented cast nine years after it was last produced in Scotland. I am particularly pleased that it will be performed at the Carnegie Hall in Dunfermline, as this will be the first time a piece of my work has been performed in my home town.”
Gagarin Way was one of the must-see shows at the Edinburgh Fringe when it came out in 2000 but its success was eclipsed by that of Black Watch, which won a slew of awards, universal critical acclaim, and thrust Gregory into the limelight.
That work portrayed soldiers in The Black Watch serving in Iraq during 2004. A huge success in the UK, Australia, and the United States, it is currently on tour in America five years after its first performance at the Edinburgh Fringe.
The massive success of Black Watch has increased interest in Gregory Burke’s other works which is no bad thing for Gagarin Way’s artistic director Michael Emans.
“I think this is going to be the thing to see in Scottish theatre this spring,” he says. “It contains some fantastic writing and has a really great cast. There’s humour, drama, it has some political points, and it’s also very entertaining.
“I don’t want people to think they have to go to Edinburgh or Glasgow to see great theatre I want them to know you can see great theatre in Dunfermline, in Kilmarnock, in Peebles.”
Gagarin’s Way concerns two workers and a security guard working at a factory in Fife.
Gary is a political idealist, while his co-worker Eddie is a time-bomb of pent-up aggression. Tom is a nave young security guard at the plant.
“The two workers decide they want to kidnap a high-level consultant,” explains Michael. “They hear that a consultant is coming in so they make their plan. They’re hoping he’ll be Japanese, someone quite high value.”
When it turns out the consultant is not only Scottish, but of working-class stock, their plan goes awry.
“They kidnap him anyway but then they’re not really sure what to do with him.”
Psychotic nihilist Eddie regards killing as a form of social experiment, whereas Gary’s socialist beliefs lead him to see their actions as a shot across the bows of the corporate classes.
“It’s quite a political play,” Michael continues. “There’s a strong background of socialism and even communism in Fife but it goes a bit deeper than that.
“Sometimes people join a political group or movement because they really want to fill a gap in their own life. If you take away that political belief it’s frightening for them because they have to work out what their own identity is.”
Gagarin Way is also about facing up to modern reality.