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.
“You are entering an age of loneliness, when no bird will be heard singing, nor a bee humming glad between flowers. Will you be able to live with the silence – the silence of extinction?”
In the devastatingly beautiful and delicate bog of the Moine on Scotland’s North Coast, a scientist, a crofter and a councillor, Cianna, Cait and Robbie, are confronted by military-industrial companies wanting to build a rocket launching site not far from the nuclear dump. Cianna monitors the land’s health and the results are worrying. Cait has apocalyptic visions, and Robbie is possessed by the voices of those who control him. All the while, the Angels watch them.
Rich in poetry, myth and legend, The Fallen Angels of the Moine, is a tragicomedy about ordinary people grappling with the epic changes shaking our world as governments and business increasingly compete with nature & the implications this brings for human survival.
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: admin@westharristrust.org or call 01859 503 900
Friday 30th August ISLE OF SKYE – SABHAL MOR OSTAIG SLEAT
Tickets: seall.co.uk info@seall.co.uk or call 01471 844207
Saturday 31st August ARISAIG – ASTLEY HALL
Tickets: info@astleyhall.org.uk or phone Ann on 01687 450263
Wednesday 4th September ROSEHALL VILLAGE HALL (NEAR LAIRG)
Tickets: rosehallhall18@gmail.com or call 01541 441 264
Thursday September 5th WICK – MACKAYS HOTEL
Tickets: Jess Lusk jesslusk@hotmail.co.uk 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: Reayhall.sec@gmail.com or call Nicky on 07763622249
Further Information
Set & Costume Design Ali Maclaurin
Music & Sound Brian McAlpine & Jonny Hardie
Lighting Grant Anderson
Film Director Brian Ross
Production Manager Nils den Hertog
Stage Manager Chariya Glasse-Davis
Assistant Director Keira Smith
Creative Learning Officer Laura Walker
Creative Learning Workshop Assistant Vicky Macrae
Camera Operator Jason Sinclair
Production Photographer Paul Campbell
Produced by Donna Macrae & Matthew Zajac
