As an Dorchadas/ Out of the Darkness

Tramway, Glasgow

Mary Brennan

FOUR STARS

Forget Tramway! We're taken to view a "des res" - a three-storey town house in nearby Shields Roads. We've hardly set foot in the place when there's a power cut. Yes, we know all this has been carefully engineered, but creator/lead devisor/performer Catriona Lexy Campbell and her associates have poured heart, soul and imagination into rendering the entire place an Aladdin's Cave of memories - and these come alive, out of the darkness.

For those of us, myself included,who don't speak Gaelic, the prospect of being in the dark linguistically was more daunting than a sudden black-out: we had torches, moreover candles and lanterns had been lit by unseen hands. Piano chords (played live) set us off, in groups, on our room-by-room adventures, and if hearing some-one chuckling during one of our encounters teased one's curiosity, there were ample clues - a smattering of spoken English, and caringly-crafted visuals - to draw us in to the overall narrative. The house was to be sold, and generations past and present offered us glimpses of their family life, from the giggling girlies up in the attic, scaring each other with ghost stories, to the wee girl browsing a scrap-book and conjuring up exotic travels with shadow-play. A young couple - him playing the fiddle, her dancing - hinted at young love, the older couple in bed shared the love of everyday married life, but the final vignette, of an old lady packing away her treasured possessions, spoke tellingly across languages, of how a house grows into a beloved home. A genuinely impressive and affecting achievement in the ongoing Gaelic Arts programme at (and out of!) Tramway