Having sung one of its most notable renditions of recent decades, it’s fitting that Mairi Campbell chose to base a whole show around Auld Lang Syne.
The acclaimed fiddler originally recorded the Robert Burns masterpiece in 1994 while in folk duo The Cast, whose stunning take on the 18th Century standard stormed the USA and later featured in TV hit Sex And The City’s 2008 film version.
Auld Lang Syne in focus
Fast-forward to 2015, and Auld Lang Syne provided the focus for a follow-up to Mairi’s debut solo theatre show of the same year, Pulse, devised in tandem with director Kath Burlinson.
The pair spent almost four years honing the part-autobiographical sequel before it reached a handful of stages in 2018.
Now Edinburgh-born Mairi hopes more audiences can enjoy the witty and heartfelt offering, which goes back on tour tomorrow, taking in Perth Theatre on Burns Night.
“What I love is that every time I go into the script I can embody it more fully,” she says.
“For any professional artist the work is to bring alive something that’s already existing.
“It’s great fun having something that’s got that strong connection to our culture through the song, and the personal stories I have that are associated with it kind of bring it to life.
Like two friends talking
“Auld Lang Syne, if you treat it as five verses, it’s like two friends speaking to one another in a bar or something, so I bring in an old friendship of mine.
“I had to ask my friend for permission but she’s seen it a few times and is happy with it.”
The multiple Scots Trad Music Awards winner has family roots on the Inner Hebrides island Lismore, where she spent seven months last year.
She says the stunning, sparsely populated isle provides inspiration, with the third part of a planned trilogy already formulating – though she doesn’t see herself as particularly prolific.
“It’s not as if it comes thick and fast with me,” admits Mairi, 57.
“Pulse and Auld Lang Syne were relatively quick to make as musical theatre shows, taking about two to three years to put together, and I’m trying to find another piece just now but it’s a slow-go.
“It’s somehow connected to a stone and it’s telling me – not surprisingly – to slow down. Or at least I’m telling myself to chill out and not be so busy. For me, it’s about taking my time so I can carve out this next show.”
An off-beat take
Mairi says her Perth audience can look forward to a slightly off-beat take on Auld Lang Syne’s growth as a cultural phenomenon.
“I’m not so much an aficionado of Burns – although I’ve learned a lot about him – more I’ve been keen to discover why this song has stuck around in the way it has,” she explains.
“Various things come up in the show, some mysterious and others more prosaic. Like in America there were individuals who helped him become popular, like Guy Lombardo of the Royal Canadians, who would do the annual New Year rendition of Auld Lang Syne.
“How Burns managed to comment on such a range of issues in verse was just staggering. He found a response to all kinds of situations.”
- Perth Theatre, January 25, horsecross.co.uk
