STEPHANIE BROWN draws attention to the hidden labour of the female embroiderers, and how a 19th century replica made no such error
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The Straw Chair
SIMON PARSONS welcomes an atmospheric drama about relationships set in the remote Hebrides
MIK SABIERS revels in a band that ploughs an idiosyncratic furrow of expletive laden, guitar-driven alt rock
ANDY HEDGECOCK, MARIA DUARTE and ANGUS REID review Synthetic Sincerity, Our Hero, Balthazar, Heartstopper Forever, and A Year In London
The bard invites readers to a gig, raps for Clacton, and lays out the Burnham-Hurzeler conundrum
RON JACOBS recommends an important book that enhances the oppositional theories put forth by Fanon and, in doing so, remakes psychology itself
JAN WOOLF relishes an extensive history of our long relationship to trees in Britain that underlines the current emergency
DIANE WATT argues that while evidence of sex is not there, a 16th‑century lesbian poet could be Scotland’s answer to Gentleman Jack
The Straw Chair
Finborough Theatre
INSPIRED by a true, 18th-century story, Sue Glover’s play weaves together the lives of two distinctly different women stranded on the rocky and windswept Hebridean island of Hirta and the strange and dangerous relationship that develops between them.
Lady Rachel Grange has been abducted and held hostage for six years on the island after an acrimonious divorce. Her vicious treatment and isolation has driven her to the point of madness but her fiery spirit is undimmed. The arrival of a puritanical minister, Aneas, and his naive young wife, Isabel, after their recent, unconsummated marriage provides the imperious and blunt-spoken captive with an outlet for her disturbing narrative and candid views on sexuality.
Siobhan Redmond creates an intriguing Mrs Havisham-style creature in Rachel, parading around the barren island in her dishevelled finery, abusing her servant and clinging onto the past with a feverish determination. Her fierce passion, haughty manner and blunt sexual advice soon pull Isabel into her orbit.
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