The mystery surrounding the death of George Meikle Kemp, the man who designed the Scott Monument and found dead in the Union Canal, is explored by Leith based Citadel Arts Group in their new play, Tales from the Towpath.
Scheduled to be performed on the canal boat Lochrin Belle at the Union Canal Basin as well as at Edinburgh Printmakers, I Dundee Street, EH3 9FP, the project came from an idea from novelist William Haddow, a member of the Citadel Arts Group Playwrights Workshop, and a volunteer on the barge, said Lochrin Belle. Citadel’s previous site-specific plays gave William the idea for the group’s new floating venue. Tales from the Towpath is researched by William and scripted along with Jim Brown, John Lamb, Rhona McAdam and Hilary Spiers with additional research by Elaine Campbell.
Artistic Director Liz Hare said “We’ve performed plays in bars, libraries, churches, schools, care homes, in and around Leith Custom House, but never on a moving barge. That’s set to change when Tales from the Towpath sets sail on the Union Canal barge, the Lochrin Belle …”
Opened in 1822, the 32-mile-long canal linking Edinburgh and Falkirk with much of it having been dug by Irish navvies, when loss of life was huge before Health and Safety were considered. Each scene in the series of plays focuses on a separate aspect of the rich heritage of the Union Canal and is scripted by a different member of Citadel Arts Group’s playwrights’ workshop.
Once part of the North British Rubber Company, the Printmakers building is an ideal venue, located close to the canal which provided water for the huge factory complex. One of the plays tells the story of a landmark legal case, Mitchell versus the North British Rubber Company Ltd. A 19-year-old factory worker’s hand was caught between the huge rollers of the machine which produced rubber sheets for the war effort. Factory Inspector Gladys Mitchell had to decide whether the Rubber Mill should be prosecuted for negligence in a case still quoted today.
Playwright Hilary Spiers said “Among all the usual worthy men, I was delighted to discover the redoubtable Miss Gladys Mitchell, His Majesty’s District Inspector of Factories for the City of Edinburgh in the 1940s. I tend to write about women, specifically older or forgotten women. When I heard about a female Factory Inspector in the 1940s, the die was cast.”
Tales from the Towpath is supported by the National Lottery Community Fund. It is directed by Mark Kydd and produced by Liz Hare. The cast comprises Ashley Barlow, James Bryce, Grant MacIver, and Deborah Whyte.
Venue 1: Lochrin Belle, the large purple canal boat, at the Union Canal Basin, Fountainbridge
Dates: 23rd 24th and 25th May at 2.30pm
Venue 2: Edinburgh Printmakers, I Dundee Street, EH3 9FP
Dates: 9th and 16th June 2pm
To book free tickets contact James on 07954 296 568
Irene Brown
Radio Summerhall Arts 