GAELIC singer Gillebride MacMillan, who has become known throughout the world for his portrayal of Gwyllyn the Bard in Outlander, is starring in a trilogy based on the cycle of life – but starting with death.
Endling is the first part of A Glimpse of Flesh and Blood by Irish-born, Scotland-based choreographer Rob Heaslip.
It is to be the opening performance of the 2019 Dance International Glasgow (DIG) then will tour to Aberdeen as part of Dance Live.
Endlings are the last of their species and Heaslip’s work draws its inspiration from studies of funerary and mourning rituals that are traditional to Gaelic-speaking areas of both Scotland and Ireland.
MacMillan said being a vocalist in the performance had given him the chance to research traditional customs recorded by he School of Scottish Studies.
“I am delighted to be in Endling – the subject matter intrigued me from the very start, having grown up in South Uist where traditional funereal practices and rituals are very much part community life,” he explained. “It was a great opportunity to create a work which has Gaelic song and culture at its heart and which unites the Gaelic customs of both Ireland and Scotland.”
Heaslip said he had developed a passion for Gaelic when working with the National Theatre of Ireland.
“Over the years I realised I wanted to incorporate it into my own work, my own contribution to preserving Gaeldom,” he said.
“What’s important for me is that people interact and learn not just the language itself, but the culture within which it is wrapped.
"A language is so much more than words. It’s a culture, a landscape, a way of thinking, a way of identifying with others and a politic.”
Heaslip said had originally gone into the studio with the idea of creating one piece of performance work but soon realised it was such a vast subject he should make a trilogy.
The decision to start with death came after he saw video footage of the last male of a species of bird found in the Pacific, calling out to find a mate that was no longer there.
“He was all alone, and the narrator called him an Endling. I cried,” said Heaslip. “It rang bells and drew parallels with my own culture and my relationship to Gaelic, how I perceived it to be fading and disconnected.
“I’m not putting the nail in the coffin by any means, for I believe the Gaelic languages to be very much alive, but there is no denying the struggle the languages face. So I guess Endling is my way of processing this.”
Part two of the trilogy will be a performance gig celebrating life through ancient pagan festivities and will be a nod to the Irish Wren Boys, the Scots Burdie Boys and the Skeklers of Shetland. The third work will explore birth, re-birth and transformation.
“While each work in the trilogy will be specific to the Gaelic-speaking communities of Scotland and Ireland, I believe each one will portray human behaviour transferrable to other communities,’’ said Heaslip.
He added that he hoped the trilogy would challenge perceptions of folk theatre. “Folk is mostly seen as something in the past, whereas I look to present it as something of the present and more importantly – the future.”
Endling will be at Glasgow’s Tramway on October 4 and 5 before moving to Aberdeen on October 17. A spring tour next year will take in Inverness, Banchory, Caithness, Findhorn and Dublin.
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