WHAT would you do if you found yourself on a burning platform?
Pibroch, created and performed by John Bolland, recalls the horror that was the Piper Alpha disaster of 1988.
It also asks the audience to explore the parallels with the current climate emergency, mixing poetry with live music and striking visual imagery.
The writer is perfectly placed to consider both catastrophes.
A former oil worker, Bolland has closely examined the devastating events that took place in the North Sea on July 6, 1988.
Sadly, 167 workers on the Piper Alpha oil platform perished – most while following instructions and awaiting rescue in the mess-hall.
Bolland is a climate activist and a member of North East Scotland Climate Action Network (NESCAN). “Pibroch started out as an idea for a demonstration against further fossil fuel development during the 2019 Offshore Oil & Gas Exhibition,” he explains.
“The idea of ‘guerrilla piping’, using Padraig Og McCrimmon’s pibroch, Lament for the Children(Cumha na Cloinne), arose as a distinctively Scottish form of protest.”
He adds: “It will be the 35th anniversary of the Piper Alpha Disaster this July and although half a lifetime has passed we seem not to have understood the underlying lessons.
“I hope those who come along to the performances will come away with a sense of disquiet and a modicum of hope.”
The storyline is complemented by multi-instrumentalist and composer Fraser Fifield who provides live music accompaniment.
Pibroch tours Scotland April 2-July 6
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