A measure of the importance of Alasdair Gray’s most famous work Lanark is the influence it still holds today.
Published in 1981, it remains a benchmark for Scottish literature and inspired a new generation of Scottish writers from Janice Galloway to AL Kennedy and Iain Banks.
I’ve been simmering with anticipation since I discovered playwright David Greig and director Graham Eatough were doing an adaptation to debut at this year’s Edinburgh Festival, marking the author’s 80th birthday.
This week my wait was over.
And it was worth it.
One of our nation’s greatest literary works, the novel took 27 years to write, comprises four books, and the staging runs to four hours.
One can only imagine the hurdles that David Greig and Graham Eatough faced in adapting this monster of a book.
Whether you are in dreamlike sequences, the darkened post-war city of Unthank or the hellish ‘Institute’, the play offers a masterfully challenging mix of mind-bending action, insanely stylish retro animation, projected words (and mouths) with rolling screens and industrial looking structures.
All credit to Laura Hopkins for the design and video artist Simon Wainwright.
I went to see the play with someone who hadn’t read the book.
The fact that you experience the same excited giddiness from the play as reading the book says it all.
As does the fact that the themes of political, ethical and social degeneration remain relevant today, reinforcing Lanark’s continued status as one of the most important Scottish novels of all time.
So go and see it. Fall in love with Lanark again, or experience for the first time Alasdair Gray’s dark, mind-bending yet playful offering on the stage.
Supported by the Scottish Government’s Expo Funding, Lanark will go to the Citizens Theatre in Glasgow after its run at the festival.
I just hope it tours all over Scotland, and the UK.
This is a landmark in Scottish drama which must be accessible to another generation in this wonderful production.
And I dearly hope the author’s health returns so he himself will be able to see it too.