THE FALLEN ANGELS OF THE MOINE
by GEORGE GUNN
HIGHLANDS & ISLANDS TOUR 2024
WORLD PREMIERE IN THE HIGHLANDS & ISLANDS
Dogstar Theatre Company
presents
THE FALLEN ANGELS OF THE MOINE
A Highland Spaceport Fantasy by George Gunn
Dogstar returns to Highland stages with The Fallen Angels of the Moine, George Gunn’s highly entertaining and imaginative response to the Scottish spaceport phenomenon. This follows on from Dogstar’s sell-out London revival of its flagship production, The Tailor of Inverness in May, and the very popular first edition of SPARK – the Highland New Play Festival at Eden Court, Inverness in January, produced in collaboration with Eden Court and Playwrights’ Studio Scotland.
2024 is shaping up to be a significant year for Dogstar and Highland theatre with these developments. Dogstar’s tour of The Fallen Angels of the Moine will take place in areas of the Highlands & Islands the company is prioritising, launching a programme of playwriting and theatre making development work for teenagers and adults, taking place in secondary schools and community venues during 2024-25.
THE FALLEN ANGELS OF THE MOINE
The bogs of Caithness and Sutherland have been the source of myth, legend, strange events and sightings throughout history. Kelpies, feachs, fairies and other weird and supernatural tales provide a rich folklore.
The Shee have travelled across the universe through time to reside beneath the great bog of the Moine. Why they have come and how long they have been there, no one will ever know. These creatures are travellers and the dimensions they exist in are beyond human knowledge. Now, they plan to leave. The gods look down on our poor little Earth.
The Fallen Angels of the Moine is a kind of warning, a miniature epic drama taking its audience on an extraordinary journey full of poetry, music and light, full of mystery, humour and hard facts. Its characters are ordinary people, the gods and the earth beneath our feet: Cait Mackay, recently returned to her home on the north coast, has an ancient bond with the Moine; Cianna Swann, a hydrologist working for a research institute, observes and analyses it; Robbie Oliphant, its political representative, is corrupted and possessed by the forces which control him - the Council, the Enterprise Company, the US defence contractor, MI5 and the Mad Irishman inside his head. Lucifer, Gabriel and the healer An Slanagher argue over the fate of the Moine, while Belle O’ Rangag leads Cait to the bothy of enlightenment. And let’s not forget Feannag, the talking crow!
The Fallen Angels of the Moine was developed in 2020 and then produced and only filmed (at Universal Hall, Findhorn) at the tail-end of the Covid pandemic, early in 2022. This tour will be the first time the production has been presented to live audiences, visiting community venues across the North Highlands & Islands.
Highlands & Islands Tour & TICKET INFO 2024
Tuesday 27th August ULLAPOOL - MACPHAIL CENTRE
The Macphail Centre Tickets: https://tickets.highlifehighland.com or at door
Wednesday 28th August STORNOWAY - AN LANNTAIR
Tickets: 01851 708480 or visit www.lanntair.com
Thursday 29th August ISLE OF HARRIS - TALLA NA MARA
Tickets: [email protected] or call 01859 503 900
Friday 30th August ISLE OF SKYE - SABHAL MOR OSTAIG SLEAT
Tickets: seall.co.uk [email protected] or call 01471 844207
Saturday 31st August ARISAIG – ASTLEY HALL
Tickets: [email protected] or phone Ann on 01687 450263
Wednesday 4th September ROSEHALL VILLAGE HALL (NEAR LAIRG)
Tickets: [email protected] or call 01541 441 264
Thursday September 5th WICK - MACKAYS HOTEL
Tickets: Jess Lusk [email protected] 07876 742884 (Dogstar promotion)
Friday 6th September MELNESS COMMUNITY CENTRE – NORTH COAST
Tickets: Pam 01847 601363 or Karen 01847 601306
Saturday 7th September REAY HALL CAITHNESS
Tickets: [email protected] or call Nicky on 07763622249
Dogstar Theatre Company
presents
THE FALLEN ANGELS OF THE MOINE
A Highland Spaceport Fantasy by George Gunn
Dogstar returns to Highland stages with The Fallen Angels of the Moine, George Gunn’s highly entertaining and imaginative response to the Scottish spaceport phenomenon. This follows on from Dogstar’s sell-out London revival of its flagship production, The Tailor of Inverness in May, and the very popular first edition of SPARK – the Highland New Play Festival at Eden Court, Inverness in January, produced in collaboration with Eden Court and Playwrights’ Studio Scotland.
2024 is shaping up to be a significant year for Dogstar and Highland theatre with these developments. Dogstar’s tour of The Fallen Angels of the Moine will take place in areas of the Highlands & Islands the company is prioritising, launching a programme of playwriting and theatre making development work for teenagers and adults, taking place in secondary schools and community venues during 2024-25.
THE FALLEN ANGELS OF THE MOINE
The bogs of Caithness and Sutherland have been the source of myth, legend, strange events and sightings throughout history. Kelpies, feachs, fairies and other weird and supernatural tales provide a rich folklore.
The Shee have travelled across the universe through time to reside beneath the great bog of the Moine. Why they have come and how long they have been there, no one will ever know. These creatures are travellers and the dimensions they exist in are beyond human knowledge. Now, they plan to leave. The gods look down on our poor little Earth.
The Fallen Angels of the Moine is a kind of warning, a miniature epic drama taking its audience on an extraordinary journey full of poetry, music and light, full of mystery, humour and hard facts. Its characters are ordinary people, the gods and the earth beneath our feet: Cait Mackay, recently returned to her home on the north coast, has an ancient bond with the Moine; Cianna Swann, a hydrologist working for a research institute, observes and analyses it; Robbie Oliphant, its political representative, is corrupted and possessed by the forces which control him - the Council, the Enterprise Company, the US defence contractor, MI5 and the Mad Irishman inside his head. Lucifer, Gabriel and the healer An Slanagher argue over the fate of the Moine, while Belle O’ Rangag leads Cait to the bothy of enlightenment. And let’s not forget Feannag, the talking crow!
The Fallen Angels of the Moine was developed in 2020 and then produced and only filmed (at Universal Hall, Findhorn) at the tail-end of the Covid pandemic, early in 2022. This tour will be the first time the production has been presented to live audiences, visiting community venues across the North Highlands & Islands.
Highlands & Islands Tour & TICKET INFO 2024
Tuesday 27th August ULLAPOOL - MACPHAIL CENTRE
The Macphail Centre Tickets: https://tickets.highlifehighland.com or at door
Wednesday 28th August STORNOWAY - AN LANNTAIR
Tickets: 01851 708480 or visit www.lanntair.com
Thursday 29th August ISLE OF HARRIS - TALLA NA MARA
Tickets: [email protected] or call 01859 503 900
Friday 30th August ISLE OF SKYE - SABHAL MOR OSTAIG SLEAT
Tickets: seall.co.uk [email protected] or call 01471 844207
Saturday 31st August ARISAIG – ASTLEY HALL
Tickets: [email protected] or phone Ann on 01687 450263
Wednesday 4th September ROSEHALL VILLAGE HALL (NEAR LAIRG)
Tickets: [email protected] or call 01541 441 264
Thursday September 5th WICK - MACKAYS HOTEL
Tickets: Jess Lusk [email protected] 07876 742884 (Dogstar promotion)
Friday 6th September MELNESS COMMUNITY CENTRE – NORTH COAST
Tickets: Pam 01847 601363 or Karen 01847 601306
Saturday 7th September REAY HALL CAITHNESS
Tickets: [email protected] or call Nicky on 07763622249
ROBERTA TAYLOR
Roberta Taylor, who died on July 6th, was one of the great actors of her generation. I was lucky enough to meet Roberta for the first time in 1986, when we worked together on the Citizens Theatre production of Rolf Hochhuth's epic and controversial play about the Pope's response to the deportation and murder of Jews during World War 2, The Representative. Roberta was a delightful, down-to-earth and generous woman and a formidable presence on stage, appearing in many leading roles in the internationally-acclaimed Citizens' ensemble led by Giles Havergal, Robert David MacDonald and Philip Prowse. Roberta became a household name through her leading TV roles in Eastenders & The Bill.
There are few actors of Roberta's status who would even consider undertaking a small-scale tour of Scotland in a new play, but that is exactly what Roberta agreed to do with Dogstar in 2013. I was delighted to welcome Roberta into the company to play the extraordinary Danish author Karen Blixen (pen-name Isak Dinesen) in The Baroness, Thor Bjorn Krebs' examination of Blixen's relationship with the young poet Thorkild Bjornvig, named as Denmark's Play of the Year in 2011. I knew Roberta would be brilliant in the role, and so it proved. It's a testament to Roberta's talent and character that the quality of the work came first, whatever the stage, and she recognised the role and the play as a great fit for her. She was also very happy to see the Highlands & Islands from her seat in the van and to play to Dogstar's enthusiastic audiences, from Stornoway to Mull, Edinburgh to Inverness, Peebles to Tullynessle. I'm only sorry we didn't get the chance to repeat the experience.
You can read about Roberta and The Baroness on our Production History page here: The Baroness
There are many fine tributes to Roberta, accessible online. She deserves them all. She was a wonderful person and I am grateful and proud to have known her as a friend and colleague.
Matthew Zajac
THE TAILOR OF INVERNESS HAS JUST COMPLETED A SUCCESSFUL 4-WEEK RUN AT LONDON'S FINBOROUGH THEATRE! TOURING IN SWEDEN, SCOTLAND & FRANCE IN AUTUMN 2024.
THE TESTAMENT OF GIDEON MACK BY JAMES ROBERTSON, ADAPTED BY MATTHEW ZAJAC, WILL TOUR SCOTLAND IN EARLY 2025!
Matthew Zajac's internationally acclaimed play about his Polish father has captivated audiences in theatres across the world. With over 300 performances and playing to over 40,000 people in 12 countries since opening at the 2008 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, The Tailor of Inverness has taken its place as one of the great Scottish theatre productions.
"COMPELLING, IMPASSIONED...A FINE ACTOR" New York Times, USA
"INDISPENSABLE" Dagens Nyheter, Sweden
"DON'T MISS IT" Radio Adelaide, Australia
"A SPECIAL GEM" The Day, Ukraine
"THE MOST ELECTRIC THEATRE IMAGINABLE" ayoungertheatre.com, UK
"A TOWERING PIECE OF WORK" Sunday Independent, Ireland
"ZAJAC IS TRULY A VISIONARY" Broadway World, USA
Finborough Selected Press Quotes
"A timeless tribute to the children of war" THE STAGE
“One marvels at Zajac’s performance the way one marvels at an Olympian athlete…a riveting masterclass in storytelling.” Adventures in Theatreland
“It is a real acting tour de force and also – a real rarity – it finds new and memorable things to say about the intolerable choices and experiences of living and surviving at the heart of the conflict between Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia…packs a real punch so that we leave the theatre with much to think about and resonant memories of a magnificent performance.” Playstosee.com
“This works brilliantly in this intimate theatre, and should be on your 'must see' list.”
Londonbornandbred.co.uk
"A must-see show." Fringe Review
AUTUMN TOURING DATES in SWEDEN, FRANCE & SCOTLAND COMING SOON!
THE TESTAMENT OF GIDEON MACK
TOURING SCOTLAND IN EARLY 2025!
We are delighted to announce that James Robertson's best-selling novel has been adapted by Matthew Zajac and will tour Scotland in February and March 2025, thanks to the support of Creative Scotland's Touring Fund.
‘In the hands of great writers, the unlikeliest stories are generally the most rewarding. What Robertson produces here is a parable of organised religion, the supernatural and mental illness…Overwhelmingly compassionate and thought-provoking.’ Irvine Welsh, Guardian
'Hugely enjoyable, very funny, deeply refreshing . . . its touch of devilry makes it even more of a joy' Herald
'Fabulous . . . a work of the highest literary quality' Scotland on Sunday
Published in 2006 and longlisted for that year's Booker Prize, The Testament of Gideon Mack instantly became a Scottish classic, a play about grief and the crisis of faith in our society, channelled through the story of one generous, energetic, perceptive, constrained, ashamed, confused and very Presbyterian individual, the Reverend Gideon Mack of Monimaskit. This is a story of late 20th century post-war Scotland, of the manse and the permissive age, a story of a Church of Scotland minister who doesn’t believe in God. Then he meets the Devil.
The Testament of Gideon Mack is full of humour, provocation and the supernatural, presenting a microcosm of small-town Scotland with a cast of vividly-drawn characters, including Gideon’s unassuming, long-suffering mother Agnes; his austere, angry minister father James; the agnostic, combative old historian Catherine Craigie; Gideon’s perceptive wife Jenny; John Moffat, the friend he betrays and his wife Elsie, the woman he really loves. An ensemble cast of eight actors will evoke Monimaskit’s community as it grows into the country’s most generous and then its most baffled and outraged as the disappearance and miraculous reappearance of Gideon results in his final, extraordinary revelations.
With an ensemble of eight actors and an outstanding creative team, The Testament of Gideon Mack will be transposed to the stage in a vibrant, physical, visually arresting production, revelling in James Robertson's wonderful language to relate this most human, compelling and mysterious Scottish story.
WATCH THIS SPACE FOR MORE DETAILS!
TOURING SCOTLAND IN EARLY 2025!
We are delighted to announce that James Robertson's best-selling novel has been adapted by Matthew Zajac and will tour Scotland in February and March 2025, thanks to the support of Creative Scotland's Touring Fund.
‘In the hands of great writers, the unlikeliest stories are generally the most rewarding. What Robertson produces here is a parable of organised religion, the supernatural and mental illness…Overwhelmingly compassionate and thought-provoking.’ Irvine Welsh, Guardian
'Hugely enjoyable, very funny, deeply refreshing . . . its touch of devilry makes it even more of a joy' Herald
'Fabulous . . . a work of the highest literary quality' Scotland on Sunday
Published in 2006 and longlisted for that year's Booker Prize, The Testament of Gideon Mack instantly became a Scottish classic, a play about grief and the crisis of faith in our society, channelled through the story of one generous, energetic, perceptive, constrained, ashamed, confused and very Presbyterian individual, the Reverend Gideon Mack of Monimaskit. This is a story of late 20th century post-war Scotland, of the manse and the permissive age, a story of a Church of Scotland minister who doesn’t believe in God. Then he meets the Devil.
The Testament of Gideon Mack is full of humour, provocation and the supernatural, presenting a microcosm of small-town Scotland with a cast of vividly-drawn characters, including Gideon’s unassuming, long-suffering mother Agnes; his austere, angry minister father James; the agnostic, combative old historian Catherine Craigie; Gideon’s perceptive wife Jenny; John Moffat, the friend he betrays and his wife Elsie, the woman he really loves. An ensemble cast of eight actors will evoke Monimaskit’s community as it grows into the country’s most generous and then its most baffled and outraged as the disappearance and miraculous reappearance of Gideon results in his final, extraordinary revelations.
With an ensemble of eight actors and an outstanding creative team, The Testament of Gideon Mack will be transposed to the stage in a vibrant, physical, visually arresting production, revelling in James Robertson's wonderful language to relate this most human, compelling and mysterious Scottish story.
WATCH THIS SPACE FOR MORE DETAILS!
NIGHTLANDS by Jack MacGregor
SUMMERHALL Edinburgh Festival Fringe August 2022
Nightlands is a play about Russia today, about how authoritarianism weaponises nostalgia, a psychological thriller located in the ex-Soviet ghost town of Pyramiden, Svalbard, during a ferocious Arctic winter. Set in 1999, at the dawn of the Putin autocracy, Pyramiden’s caretakers play out a generational and ideological conflict. Sasha is nostalgic for the collapsed communist past, Slava looks to the possibilities of a future free from authoritarianism and poverty. Their epic struggle rages like the storms of the Polar Night as Slava tries to shake off the ghosts of Russia's past.
with
REBECCA WILKIE as Slava
MATTHEW ZAJAC as Sasha
Director JACK MACGREGOR
Designer ALI MACLAURIN
Composer BRIAN MCALPINE
Sound Design BRIAN MCALPINE & JONNY HARDIE
Lighting GRANT ANDERSON
CIRCLING A FOX - THE STORY OF THE TAILOR OF INVERNESS presented by Matthew Zajac, directed by Brian Ross
Broadcast on BBC Scotland, Circling a Fox takes Matthew Zajac’s multi-award-winning play about his father’s life and turns it into a genre-bending documentary film that challenges received notions of personal and national identity. It is a deeply personal story, taking us on a journey from war-torn Poland and Ukraine to the Highlands of Scotland and then back again. Blending documentary, theatre and poetic drama-reconstruction, Circling a Fox tells the story of Matthew's quest to seek the truth about his father’s past and his efforts to use theatre to reach out to a family he never knew he had.
CHECK IT OUT HERE:
https://vimeo.com/ondemand/circlingafox
Broadcast on BBC Scotland, Circling a Fox takes Matthew Zajac’s multi-award-winning play about his father’s life and turns it into a genre-bending documentary film that challenges received notions of personal and national identity. It is a deeply personal story, taking us on a journey from war-torn Poland and Ukraine to the Highlands of Scotland and then back again. Blending documentary, theatre and poetic drama-reconstruction, Circling a Fox tells the story of Matthew's quest to seek the truth about his father’s past and his efforts to use theatre to reach out to a family he never knew he had.
CHECK IT OUT HERE:
https://vimeo.com/ondemand/circlingafox
Based on the testimonies of Robert Mackie and Bruce Norval
with STEWART PORTER as Rab & MATTHEW ZAJAC as Bruce |
Factor 9 is inspired by the story of the biggest healthcare disaster in the history of the UK’s National Health Service. This is a play based on the lives, deaths and testimonies of some of those affected by treatment with contaminated blood – an horrific story of blighted lives which explores the causes that allowed HIV, Hepatitis C and CJD infection to be spread among the community of blood products users in Scotland, the rest of the UK and throughout the world during the late 1970s and 1980s.
|
Using transcripts, interviews, newspaper articles and other documentary evidence, and mixing this with metaphors and myths from the realms of science fiction and horror, Factor 9 is a visceral multi-media performance dominated by that vital fluid, blood. At its core, it tells a story of ordinary people and how their lives were shockingly changed forever.
|
Prepare to be physically shaken by Factor 9.”
Yasmin Suleiman, The List "I have NEVER been more affected, impressed and devastated by a play in a long theatrical life…A play of shame, pain and extraordinary power." Pete Searle, audience member “Superbly tense drama, with Porter and Zajac on top form.” Ed Frankl, Edinburgh Evening News ****** “Factor 9 says what it has to say about a mighty public scandal, in a vividly theatrical style that no-one who sees it is ever likely to forget” Joyce MacMillan, The Scotsman **** “The playwright got it just right…powerful and very human.” Paula Murray, Sunday Express |
“Be sure to see it."
Anders Sjögren, Västerbottens-Kuriren Sweden “…unforgettable, high quality and hard-hitting…” Margaret Chrystall, Inverness Courier ***** “Stop what you are doing and check to see if Dogstar Theatre Factor 9 is coming to you. Gut wrenching, tragic, furious, brilliant.” Bruce MacGregor, Inverness “SUPERB, POWERFUL and SEAMLESS performance – still shaking with the effects of it – best theatre I’ve seen since the Tailor of Inverness.” Joanna Boyce, Edinburgh |
THE TAILOR OF INVERNESS
Written & Performed by Matthew Zajac Violin Jonny Hardie Directed by Ben Harrison Music by Jonny Hardie & Gavin Marwick Designed by Ali Maclaurin Lighting by Kai Fischer Production filmed & edited by Brian Ross |
Matthew Zajac's internationally acclaimed play about his Polish father has captivated audiences in theatres across the world. With over 275 performances and playing to over 40,000 people in 12 countries since opening at the 2008 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, The Tailor of Inverness has taken its place as one of the great Scottish theatre productions.
The Tailor of Inverness, with its cry for victims of war and forced migration everywhere, is "a universal work of theatre" (Sunday Herald). |
"I come from the Soviets and the Nazis. I come from a farm, from the forests and fields of green Ukraine, from the resettlement camps of Germany, from the beaches of the Adriatic, from the grimy streets of Glasgow and the cool air of Inverness."
"A TRIUMPH" The Observer, UK
"COMPELLING, IMPASSIONED...A FINE ACTOR" New York Times, USA
"INDISPENSABLE" Dagens Nyheter, Sweden
"DON'T MISS IT" Radio Adelaide, Australia
"A SPECIAL GEM" The Day, Ukraine
"THE MOST ELECTRIC THEATRE IMAGINABLE" ayoungertheatre.com, UK
"A TOWERING PIECE OF WORK" Sunday Independent, Ireland
"ZAJAC IS TRULY A VISIONARY" Broadway World, USA
BEST ACTOR CRITICS' AWARDS FOR THEATRE IN SCOTLAND
BEST SOLO PERFORMER THE STAGE NEWSPAPER EDINBURGH FRINGE AWARDS
SCOTSMAN FRINGE FIRST AWARD WINNER
"One actor, one fiddler, one brilliant and moving piece of theatre...See it, friends." April Alliston, New York
"One of the most moving theatre experiences we've ever had." David Getz, New York
"Unbelievably moving and unexpected." Misha Glenny, London
"Matthew Zajac's performance was incredible. Wish I could go again tomorrow." Kevin Hanrahan, Dublin
"It really was an international wonder" Hanne Larsen, Copenhagen
"What a story, what a play, what a performance...I could barely speak afterwards." Gerda Stevenson, Edinburgh
"A TRIUMPH" The Observer, UK
"COMPELLING, IMPASSIONED...A FINE ACTOR" New York Times, USA
"INDISPENSABLE" Dagens Nyheter, Sweden
"DON'T MISS IT" Radio Adelaide, Australia
"A SPECIAL GEM" The Day, Ukraine
"THE MOST ELECTRIC THEATRE IMAGINABLE" ayoungertheatre.com, UK
"A TOWERING PIECE OF WORK" Sunday Independent, Ireland
"ZAJAC IS TRULY A VISIONARY" Broadway World, USA
BEST ACTOR CRITICS' AWARDS FOR THEATRE IN SCOTLAND
BEST SOLO PERFORMER THE STAGE NEWSPAPER EDINBURGH FRINGE AWARDS
SCOTSMAN FRINGE FIRST AWARD WINNER
"One actor, one fiddler, one brilliant and moving piece of theatre...See it, friends." April Alliston, New York
"One of the most moving theatre experiences we've ever had." David Getz, New York
"Unbelievably moving and unexpected." Misha Glenny, London
"Matthew Zajac's performance was incredible. Wish I could go again tomorrow." Kevin Hanrahan, Dublin
"It really was an international wonder" Hanne Larsen, Copenhagen
"What a story, what a play, what a performance...I could barely speak afterwards." Gerda Stevenson, Edinburgh
These outstanding film and theatre experiences are available to view for £3 or download for £8
Please do pass the above links on or share with friends using the social media buttons to the right hand side of this page. And remember to tag us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook to let us know what you thought of the films! Use the hashtag #DogstarTheatre on Twitter and Instagram.
Please do pass the above links on or share with friends using the social media buttons to the right hand side of this page. And remember to tag us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook to let us know what you thought of the films! Use the hashtag #DogstarTheatre on Twitter and Instagram.
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with every good wish
Matthew
www.dogstartheatre.co.uk
with every good wish
Matthew
www.dogstartheatre.co.uk