"...a beautifully realised tale of the reality of survival in war-torn Eastern Europe...Matthew Zajac's moving performance is a triumph of evocative staging and storytelling."  The Observer














Directed by Ben Harrison

Performed by Matthew Zajac
Violinist -  Jonny Hardie/Gavin Marwick
Polish Voice - Magdalena Kaleta

Set & Costume Design by Ali Maclaurin
Musical Arrangement by Gavin Marwick & Jonny Hardie
Video Design by Tim Reid
Lighting Design by Kai Fischer
Sound Design by Timothy Brinkhurst
Production & Stage Manager  Laura Edwards
Technical Stage Manager  Sholto Bruce
Rehearsal Assistant  Hannah Reade
Translation  Magdalena Kaleta, Lucy Ash, Tom Morrison

Project Administrator  Angela Cran
Press & Marketing  Liz Smith
Publicity Photography  Laurence Winram
Graphic Design  Karen Sutherland
Production Photography  Tim Morozzo
Produced by Matthew Zajac                                     


                                                                                           





I come from Gnilowoda.  I come from a tailoring school in Podhajce.  I come from the Eastern Front because when you are a tailor, they send you to be a soldier.  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.  Now I am here.  I am from here.  I speak the language of here.




The Tailor of Inverness is a story of journeys, of how a boy who grew up on a farm in Galicia (Eastern Poland, now Western Ukraine) came to be a tailor in Inverness.  His life spanned most of the 20th century.  His story is not straightforward.  He was taken prisoner by the Soviets in 1939 and forced to work east of the Urals, then freed in an amnesty after the German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941.  He then joined the thousands of Poles who travelled to Tehran, then Egypt, to be integrated into the British Army, fighting in North Africa and Italy.  He was then resettled in Britain in 1948, joining his brother in Glasgow.  This is the story he told.



But there is another story, and perhaps a third and fourth one, for in order to survive, he had to adopt different identities.  Like all immigrants, the tailor had to adapt and he did that very successfully, integrating himself into the fabric of Highland life.  And fabric was perhaps the most important medium through which he achieved this.  He made a variety of clothes for thousands of people, including himself, constructing the outward trappings which play a part in defining hwo we are.  Fabric.  Fabrication.

Crossing the borders from Poland to Russia to Iran to Egypt to Italy to Germany to Scotland, the fable reflects on the Second World War but is personal, intimate and rooted in two cultures:  Galicia and the Scottish Highlands.  The play uses the central metaphor of the tailor and his fabric.  Layers of ghostly clothes are projected on to with a series of still and moving images from the tailor's past and present-day Ukraine.  The performance combines storytelling, songs, poetry and physicality with a rich soundscape of live fiddle music and effects.

The Tailor of Inverness previewed at the Arches Theatre, Glasgow on July 29th & 30th 2008 and opened at the Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh on July 31st, running to August 24th.  The production will tour Scotland from late January 2009, going on to the Adelaide Festival, Australia for three weeks.  A tour of Ireland in spring 2009 is also being planned.

 


"Zajac sews up the story superbly...this is a compelling and magical piece of theatre."  Edinburgh Evening News *****

"If you want to see something of Scottish theatre at its very best, get thee to the Assembly Rooms and buy a ticket for this diamond-sharp wee number." 
edinburghguide.com *****

"...in Zajac's simple, beautiful presentation and performance we feel his sense of self first challenged, then enriched."  Financial Times ****

"...a brave biographical piece...that has succeeded in turning a deeply personal family story into a universal work of theatre."  Sunday Herald ****

"...theatre at its best...achieves more power, humour and inventiveness in its 75 minutes than most full-length plays manage in three hours...Zajac's performance is phenomenal.  It is easy to get swept away by the narratives, the numerous characters and the constant theatrical surprises that Harrison and Zajac create...personal, creative and mesmerising.  This should not be missed."
onstagescotland.co.uk ****

"...a stunning realisation of the one-man form...visually breathtaking in its simplicity."  festmag.co.uk ****

"...it is both familiar and unpredictable, challenging yet funny, epic but also profoundly moving...It carries heart-rending poems in hidden pockets and you should definitely try it on."  The Stage

"...a captivating piece of theatre...a must-see."  The Inverness Courier

London Evening Standard ****
The Times ****
The List ****









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