'e Polish Quine

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Directed by Matthew Zajac

David Gordon – Fraser C. Sivewright                                  
Anna – Magdalena Kaleta
Mercy Gordon – Anne Kidd
Alex Gordon – Hamish Wilson
Kate Gordon – Sarah Haworth
Tim Balfour/ Rob Duncan – Douglas Russell                         
Set Design by Dave Smith
Costumes by Angelina Gerrard                                           
Lighting Design by Brian Gorman
Sound Design by Andy Thorburn                                        
Music Consultant Jonny Hardie
Dialect Coach Alex Gillon
Stage and Technical Management Brian Gorman


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DSM  Jacqui Howard
Project Administrator  Rachael Mill                                      
Press & Marketing  Liz Smith
Publicity Design  Karen Sutherland
Production Photography  Fin Macrae
Produced by Matthew Zajac & Hamish MacDonald

“…a fine ensemble cast deliver strong performances in what is a powerful look at good and evil, displacement and assimilation – and what, if anything, separates man from beast.” Alan Chadwick, Metro








  • “Dogstar Theatre’s dark and powerful new touring production… imaginatively directed … beautifully written…a strong ensemble cast…”
    Kenny Mathieson, The Herald
  • “Well directed with a top-class script, Adam’s reworking of a much earlier project is highly recommended.” Peter Thomson. The Big Issue 
  • “…a powerful production…Adam is deservedly gaining a reputation as one of Scotland’s most ambitious dramatists…the stark, beautiful poetry of its telling are embraced and delivered with much style by a fine cast…Magdalena Kaleta is a revelation…as Davey, Fraser C. Sivewright alone is worth the price of the ticket…Dogstar takes us deep into the heart of our nation (and) is proving to be one of Scotland’s most important new writing companies.  See this play if you can.” 
  • George Gunn, John O’Groat Journal
Set in the immediate aftermath of World War Two, the play tells the story of David Gordon, a young man who has returned from the war to his family’s Aberdeenshire farm, searching for the peace and simplicity of his childhood, embodied by his ailing father Alex, a man with an uncomplicated love for the land.  He is haunted by the horrors he has witnessed.  They return to him in his sleep and in the form of local antipathy towards a refugee Polish family who take the lease on a nearby farm, a farm which his sister Kate and her new husband hoped to settle in after their wedding.  David establishes the beginnings of a relationship with Anna, the daughter of the Polish family, trying to overcome the psychological damage the war has inflicted on them both.   His friend Tim, also a survivor of the war, has returned with a burning desire to create a new, better world as a campaigning socialist politician.  His optimism acts as a counterpoint to the nihilism the war has engendered in David. Powerful and moving, ‘e Polish Quine explores the themes of war trauma, xenophobia and love.

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“…a rich, responsible and deeply poetic piece of work which powerfully links traditional life on the land in Aberdeenshire both with the ferment of post-war Britain and with the hell through which millions of European farms and villages had just passed.  Matthew Zajac and Dogstar are to be congratulated on a gallant, heartfelt attempt to give this major play the public platform it deserves.”  
Joyce McMillan, The Scotsman


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‘e Polish Quine was staged end-on on Dave Smith’s versatile set which effectively evoked the interiors and exteriors of  a farm in north-east Scotland, enhanced at times by atmospheric shadow effects.  Our excellent acting ensemble rose to the challenge of the Doric dialect of the north-east with the assistance of the two native speakers in the cast, Douglas Russell and Fraser C. Sivewright, and the expert voice coach Alex Gillon…
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The production was also punctuated by a selection of some of the finest Bothy Ballads of the region, sung beautifully by Hamish Wilson and Sarah Haworth.  
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Yer hair’s as soft an gentle as a thocht God wis.  Fin a’m wi ye a dinna hear ae voices, a dinna see ae faces.  All there is is ye an me, an we’re baith pairt o ae same thing.  We’re pairt o ae nicht, pairt o ae quietness at surrounds us.  Its as if a can only be alone fin a’m wi ye.

Dogstar was delighted to work in partnership with Arts In Motion during the play’s production period, and with Lyth Arts Centre, Caithness, where the production’s final technical and dress rehearsals took place.  The production was supported by the Scottish Arts Council with additional support from Highlands & Islands Enterprise and the Hugh Fraser Foundation.
The play opened at Lyth Arts Centre on May 16th 2007 and toured to the following venues:  
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  • Kingussie – Badenoch Centre                                                            
  • Stornoway – An Lanntair
  • Inverness – Spectrum Centre
  • Aberdeen – Lemon Tree Arts Centre
  • Stirling – MacRobert Arts Centre
  • Paisley Arts Centre
  • Edinburgh – Traverse Theatre
  • Mull – Dervaig Village Hall
  • Glasgow – Tron Theatre                                          
  • Sutherland - Lochinver Village Hall
  • Sutherland – Rosehall Village Hall
  • Easter Ross – Strathpeffer Pavilion                                    
  • Banchory – Woodend Barn
  • Arbuthnott – Grassic Gibbon Centre
  • Dunfermline – Carnegie Hall
  • St. Andrews – Byre Theatre
  • Dundee Rep Theatre