A Drunk Woman Looks At The Thistle

A Drunk Woman Looks at The Thistle is a clever 45-minute comedic rant on Scotland's political climate.

Written by Denise Mina, staged by Alison Peebles and performed by Karen Dunbar, the monologue is an insightful look at Scotland's place in the modern world. It is also a rebuttal to Hugh MacDiarmid's famed poem.

Mina manages to fit quite a lot of commentary into such a short piece. She questions Scotland's political ideology, Scottish cultural identity and, most importantly, the view and treatment of women in modern Scotland.

The script is cleverly written and is never obvious in its direction. She balances the rage and humour intelligently, making the piece angry enough to be taken seriously but funny enough to be enjoyed.

The strongest aspect is Dunbar's brilliant performance. Anyone who only knows her TV work will be surprised at how powerful she is here; anyone without any knowledge of her would assume she was an experienced dramatic actress. Yes, she is funny, highly physical and effortlessly plays with voices, but even her funniest moments have a shade of tragedy about it. Though she isn't playing a solid character, there isn't a word that you fail to believe. She isn't a comic having a political tirade or trying to be a character: she is a believable human that's passionate about what she is saying.

Peebles skilfully uses the small space, relying mostly on light and Dunbar's ability to change tack. She balances the stage with Dunbar's movement, never having her stay in one place for too long, but never having her do anything that doesn't seem real. It appears so natural that it's easy to believe that it hasn't been staged at all.

The production is a remount from a run at Oran Mor's A Play, A Pie and a Pint series, and it's easy to see why it was brought to the Festival. Anyone looking for an excellent piece of short political theatre will be hard-pressed to find a better one than this.